Annual Report 2019

Central to our mission at the St. Louis Fed is our commitment to public outreach and the communities we serve. Our 2019 annual report highlights our community development work, from fostering partnerships between community-based organizations and funders through our Investment Connection program, to addressing economic challenges in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta region, to examining the results of the “Bank On” low-fee banking movement. This year’s report discusses how these initiatives and others like them are helping to shape economic progress across the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Our annual report also includes messages from our president and CEO, James Bullard, and from the chair of our board of directors, Suzanne Sitherwood. Bullard notes that outreach is part of the fabric of the Fed’s regional structure, and that timely information gathered by Reserve banks complements the data on the overall economy that the Federal Open Market Committee considers. Sitherwood shares how the Fed’s decentralized structure ensures that Reserve banks stay in close touch with Main Street. Elsewhere in the report, Our Leaders, Our Advisers highlights the Bank’s leadership and governance, listing current members of our boards of directors and advisory councils. Our People, Our Work rounds out this year’s report with a “by the numbers” snapshot of the St. Louis Fed’s work in 2019 on behalf of the Eighth District.