As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve has four fundamental duties:

1. Conducting the nation's monetary policy by influencing the money and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of full employment and stable prices
2. Supervising and regulating banking institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation's banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers
3. Maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets
4. Providing certain financial services to the U.S. government, to the public, to financial institutions, and to foreign official institutions, thereby playing a major role in the operation of the nation's payments system.

Federal Reserve records and information may be obtained from the following sources. (Entrances to the Board's Eccles and Martin Buildings are on C Street, between 20th and 21st Streets, NW, Washington, DC.)

• Public Affairs Office. The Public Affairs Office issues press releases, speeches, testimony, and other announcements to the press and the public. It also responds to inquiries from the press and the public about Federal Reserve activities and maintains a telephone tape that provides information about Board meetings and about availability of special announcements, testimony, speeches, and statistical releases; bank holding company and other banking announcements; dates of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings; and release dates for FOMC minutes and the Beige Book (202-452-3206).

• Public Affairs Information Room. Press releases, periodic releases, bank holding company orders, speeches and statements, and other items of current interest are made available, at the time of release, on the Ground Floor, C Street entrance of the Eccles Building.

• Publications Services. A list of publications is included in the June and December issues of the Federal Reserve Bulletin. Requests for these documents may be made by letter, telephone, facsimile, or in person. Publications Services is located in Room M-P-574 of the Martin Building and is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number is 202-452-3245, the facsimile number is 202-728-5886, and the address is Publications Services, MS-127, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. The publications order form is also available on the Board's World Wide Web site.

• The Federal Reserve Board Web Site. The Board's World Wide Web site contains statistics, documents, and information that originate at the Board and the Federal Reserve Banks. The Board's site also has direct links to the sites of each of the Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, other federal banking regulators, and certain foreign central banks.

  Electronic versions of documents available in the Freedom of Information Office reading room appear in several places on the Board's home page. The link "Public information: Actions, orders, and other documents" will connect users to many reading room documents that are generated at the Board and the Reserve Banks. A search facility permits custom searches for these documents. In addition, an electronic version of the Board's H.2 publication, which is a weekly index of Board and Reserve Bank actions, can be found either on the home page or on the Public Information page.

  The Board's Internet address is http://www.federalreserve.gov

• The Freedom of Information (FOI) Office. The FOI Office maintains and furnishes several types of documents, including

  Public information letters
  Federal Reserve regulatory letters
  Comment letters on regulatory proposals
  Legal interpretations
  Administrative letters
  Minutes of Board meetings
  Index of Board actions
  Open meeting memoranda
  Transcripts of Federal Open Market Committee meetings and
  conference calls
  CRA performance evaluations

  In addition, files are maintained on various subjects such as bank holding companies, consumer and community affairs, and the payment system.

  Other documents may be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and may be made available in whole or in part. FOIA requests may be made by letter, telephone, facsimile, or in person. Letters should be addressed to

  Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson
  Secretary of the Board
  Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
  20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC 20551

  The envelope must be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Request." The FOI Office telephone numbers are 202-452-3684/3685, the facsimile numbers are 202-872-7562/7565. Submitting the request electronically can be done by completing the Freedom of Information Act Request Form. The FOI Office is located in Room M-P-500 in the Martin Building and is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

  The procedures for obtaining documents and records are set out in the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of Information (12 CFR 261). These rules may be obtained from Publications Services or the FOI Office. They are also published in the Code of Federal Regulations and in the Federal Reserve Regulatory Service. Copies of the Board's annual report to the Congress under FOIA may be obtained from the FOI Office.

National Technical Information Service (NTIS). NTIS provides several series of Federal Reserve data, generally in electronic format, including Bank Credit, Banking Reserves, Bank Structure Files, International Financial Statistics, Money Stock, Survey of Consumer Finances, selected Bank Holding Company Report Forms, and the Report of Condition and Income. Requesters may obtain the current catalog and price list of Federal Reserve data distributed by NTIS on the NTIS Banking and Financial Web site.

The Internet address is www.ntis.gov

Requesters also may call 703-487-4682 or write to

U.S. Department of Commerce
Technology Administration
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, Virginia 22161

To comment on this site, please fill out our feedback form.
Last update: March 29, 2000