The United States' central bank, the Federal Reserve Bank, was founded in 1913 to provide the nation with a safer and more flexible and stable monetary and financial system. It is comprised of twelve district Federal Reserve Banks. The Ninth District, headquartered in Minneapolis, serves Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, 26 counties in northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
In late February, my Money and Banking class participated in an inside look-and-learn opportunity of this powerful financial entity—the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. In all, thirty people embarked on this excursion including students from the Intermediate Microeconomics class, a UROP student, a visiting scholar, and three faculty.
The day provided students with ample learning opportunities for an overall understanding of the Federal Reserve System—history, origin, main functions, dual mandate, organizational structure, evolution of payment instruments, and evolution of banking regulations. Students also learned about District Nine’s regional economics, key industries, and bank supervision. Watching robots moving money to and from the vault to the cash processing rooms was a highlight.
The tour guide gave information about the job opportunities and summer internship at the Fed, which included application review timeline and benefits of working for the Federal Reserve Bank. The guide also highlighted LSBE’s recent graduate Rachel Maschhoff, who started as an intern and is now employed at the Minneapolis Fed as a financial analyst.
I timed our tour to take place before we discussed the history, origin, structure of the Federal Reserve System in class. Our visit to the Minneapolis Fed was an important and eye-opening experiential learning activity for students.
More information about the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank and the many impactful initiatives being undertaken by its President and CEO, Neel Kashkari, can be found at minneapolisfed.org.
Photo: Professor of Economics Ariuna Taivan (far left), her class, and others at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Learn more about LSBE's Department of Economics.