| BUSINESS DICTIONARY |
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| [F] Federal Advisory Council - FAC An advisory group consisting of one member, usually a banker, from each Federal Reserve District. Members are elected annually by the Reserve Bank boards of directors. Members meet with the Federal Reserve Board at least four times a year to make recommendations on business and financial issues relating to banking, but have no real power. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - FDIC An independent deposit insurance agency created by Congress in 1933 to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC promotes safety and soundness of insured depository institutions and the U.S. financial system by identifying, monitoring, and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; minimizes disruptive effects from the failure of banks and savings associations; and ensures fairness in the sale of financial products and provision of financial services. federal funds Short-term transactions in immediately available funds between depository institutions and certain other institutions that maintain accounts with the Federal Reserve; usually not collateralized. federal funds rate (funds rate) The interest rate at which banks borrow surplus reserves and other immediately available funds. The federal funds rate is the shortest short-term interest rate, with maturities on federal funds concentrated in overnight or one-day transactions. Federal Home Loan Bank Board - FHLBB The agency of the federal government that supervises all federal savings and loan associations and federally insured state-chartered savings and loan associations. The FHLBB also operates the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, which insures accounts at federal savings and loan associations and those state-chartered associations that apply and are accepted. In addition, the FHLBB directs the Federal Home Loan Bank System, which provides a flexible credit facility for member savings institutions to promote the availability of home financing. The FHL Banks also own the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, established in 1970 to promote secondary markets for mortgages. federal margin call A broker's demand upon a customer for cash or securities needed to satisfy the required Regulation T down payment for a purchase or short sale of securities. Federal Open Market Committee - FOMC Twelve-member committee made up of the seven members of the Board of Governors; the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and, on a rotating basis, the presidents of four other Reserve Banks. The FOMC meets eight times a year to set Federal Reserve guidelines regarding the purchase and sale of government securities in the open market as a means of influencing the volume of bank credit and money in the economy. It also establishes policy relating to System operations in the foreign exchange rates. Federal Reserve Act of 1913 Federal legislation that established the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Bank - FRB One of the twelve operating arms of the Federal Reserve System, located throughout the nation, that together with their twenty-five Branches carry out various System functions, including operating a nationwide payments system, distributing the nation's currency and coin, supervising and regulating member banks and bank holding companies, and serving as banker for the U.S. Treasury. Federal Reserve District (Reserve District or District) One of the twelve geographic regions served by a Federal Reserve Bank. Federal Reserve float Checkbook money that, for a period of time, appears on the books of both the payor and payee due to the lag in the collection process. Federal Reserve float often arises during the Federal Reserve's check collection process. In order to promote an efficient payments mechanism with certainty as to the date funds become available, the Federal Reserve has employed the policy of crediting the reserve accounts of depository institutions depositing checks (the payee) according to an availability schedule before the Federal Reserve is able to obtain payment from the payor. |