Title 12 — Banks and BankingRelease 119-73
§241 Creation; membership; compensation and expenses
Title 12 › Chapter CHAPTER 3— - FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM › § 241
Summary
Seven people make up the Board. After Aug 23, 1935, the President, with Senate approval, appoints them to 14-year terms. Members already serving on Aug 23, 1935, and the Treasury Secretary and Comptroller stay until Feb 1, 1936. No more than one member may be from the same Federal Reserve district. The President must ensure diverse economic and regional representation and include at least one person with primary experience at community banks under $10,000,000,000 in assets. Members work full time and are paid $15,000 a year, paid monthly, plus necessary travel expenses.
Full Legal Text
Title 12, §241
Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”) shall be composed of seven members, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, after August 23, 1935, for terms of fourteen years except as hereinafter provided, but each appointive member of the Federal Reserve Board in office on such date shall continue to serve as a member of the Board until February 1, 1936, and the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency shall continue to serve as members of the Board until February 1, 1936. In selecting the members of the Board, not more than one of whom shall be selected from any one Federal Reserve district, the President shall have due regard to a fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests, and geographical divisions of the country. In selecting members of the Board, the President shall appoint at least 1 member with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks having less than $10,000,000,000 in total assets. The members of the Board shall devote their entire time to the business of the Board and shall each receive basic compensation at the rate of $15,000 per annum, payable monthly, together with actual necessary traveling expenses.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section is comprised of first par. of section 10 of act Dec. 23, 1913. Pars. 2–7 and 8 of section 10; par. 9 of section 10, as added
June 3, 1922, ch. 205, 42 Stat. 621; par. 10 of section 10, as added Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, § 203(d), 49 Stat. 705; and par. (12) of section 10, as added Pub. L. 111–203, title XI, § 1108(b),
Amendments
2015—Pub. L. 114–1 inserted after second sentence “In selecting members of the Board, the President shall appoint at least 1 member with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks having less than $10,000,000,000 in total assets.” 1935—Act Aug. 23, 1935, § 203(b), increased the appointive membership from six to seven, terminated the membership of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency, raised the tenure from twelve to fourteen years and increased the annual salary from $12,000 to $15,000.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Act Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, title II, § 203(a), 49 Stat. 704, provided that: “Hereafter the Federal Reserve Board shall be known as the ‘Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,’ and the governor and the vice governor of the Federal Reserve Board shall be known as the ‘chairman’ and the ‘vice chairman,’ respectively, of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”
Effective Date
of 2015 Amendment Pub. L. 114–1, title I, § 109(b), Jan. 12, 2015, 129 Stat. 9, provided that: “The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 12, 2015] and apply to appointments made on and after that
Effective Date
, excluding any nomination pending in the Senate on that date.”
Repeals
Act Oct. 15, 1949, ch. 695, § 4, 63 Stat. 880, formerly cited as a credit to this section, which was used as authority to substitute “$16,000” for “$15,000” in the last sentence, was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, § 8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 655. General Accounting Office Study of Conflicts of Interest Pub. L. 106–102, title VII, § 728, Nov. 12, 1999, 113 Stat. 1475, provided that the Comptroller General of the United States was to conduct a study analyzing the conflict of interest faced by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System between its role as a primary regulator of the banking industry and its role as a vendor of services to the banking and financial services industry and, before the end of the 1-year period beginning on Nov. 12, 1999, submit a report to the Congress, together with recommendations for such legislative or administrative actions as the Comptroller General determined to be appropriate. Compensation of Board of GovernorsAnnual basic compensation of Chairman and Members of Board of Governors, see section 5313 and 5314 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
12 U.S.C. § 241
Title 12 — Banks and Banking
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73