Federal Reserve Act

Federal legislation, enacted in 1913, that established the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System has many responsibilities, including:

• Conducting America's monetary policy,
• Supervising and regulating banks and protecting consumers' credit rights,
• Maintaining the stability of America's financial system, and
• Providing financial services to the U.S. Government, the public, financial, institutions, and foreign financial institutions.

The Federal Reserve makes loans to commercial banks and is authorized to issue the Federal Reserve notes that make up America's entire supply of paper money.