Browse Economics

Fed Policy, Accounts, Notes, and Balance Sheet

Federal Reserve terms for FOMC policy, Fed accounts, Reserve notes, the balance sheet, and the Federal Reserve Act.

Fed Policy, Accounts, Notes, and Balance Sheet covers central-bank institutions, reserve systems, money aggregates, liquidity facilities, and policy tools that affect interest rates, bank funding, currencies, and financial-market conditions.

Use these pages when a finance question depends on a policy rate, reserve requirement, central-bank balance sheet, liquidity operation, money-supply measure, or official monetary institution. It sits inside Federal Reserve System and U.S. Policy, so readers can move up when the broader economics context matters.

This landing page points readers toward Federal Reserve Account, Federal Reserve Act, Federal Reserve Balance Sheet, Federal Reserve Notes, and Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. Choose the narrower page when the term changes the evidence source, calculation, institution, market convention, risk exposure, or decision being made.

What This Branch Covers

AreaUse it for
Federal Reserve AccountA Federal Reserve account lets eligible institutions or government entities hold balances and settle payments through a Federal Reserve Bank.
Federal Reserve ActThe Federal Reserve Act, passed in 1913, established the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States.
Federal Reserve Balance SheetThe Federal Reserve balance sheet records the central bank’s assets, liabilities, reserves, currency, and policy-related holdings.
Federal Reserve NotesFederal Reserve notes are U.S. paper currency liabilities issued through the Federal Reserve System and backed by legal tender status.
Federal Reserve Open Market CommitteeThe Federal Reserve Open Market Committee sets U.S. monetary policy through target rates, open-market operations, and policy guidance.

What to Check

  • Central bank or monetary authority.
  • Policy rate, reserve rule, facility, account, or money aggregate.
  • Announcement date, operating date, and effective date.
  • Eligible institution, instrument, collateral, or reserve base.
  • Expected effect on yields, liquidity, credit, or exchange rates.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing a policy announcement with an executed market operation.
  • Treating money aggregates as direct forecasts of inflation or asset returns.
  • Ignoring jurisdiction-specific central-bank mandates and operating frameworks.
  • Using rate labels without checking target, corridor, reserve, and facility mechanics.

Central-bank terms are educational context; they are not rate forecasts or recommendations to borrow, lend, trade, or invest.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Federal Reserve Account

A Federal Reserve account lets eligible institutions or government entities hold balances and settle payments through a Federal Reserve Bank.

Federal Reserve Act

The Federal Reserve Act, passed in 1913, established the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States.

Federal Reserve Balance Sheet

The Federal Reserve balance sheet records the central bank's assets, liabilities, reserves, currency, and policy-related holdings.

Federal Reserve Notes

Federal Reserve notes are U.S. paper currency liabilities issued through the Federal Reserve System and backed by legal tender status.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026