Annual Report 2019 | Connecting Communities

 

Our People, Our Work

The mission of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is to promote a healthy economy and financial stability. The Bank’s 1,404 staff members—from the District’s head office in St. Louis to branches in Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis—serve the public’s interest in many ways, as seen in the following numerical snapshot of 2019.

All numbers are as of Dec. 31, 2019, unless otherwise noted.

Empowering Communities through Education and Outreach

Andre Alexander (left) is president of Tabernacle CDC, which is restoring homes in north St. Louis with help from a funding partnership facilitated by the St. Louis Fed's Investment Connection program.


  • 6,731
    people signed up for 41 workshops, conferences and other events led by the Bank’s Community Development department to promote economic resilience and mobility for low- and moderate-income and underserved households and communities across the District.
  • $1.35 million
    in grants, loans and investments committed by funders participating in community and economic development projects through the St. Louis Fed’s Investment Connection program.
  • 16,106
    attendees at public presentations requested through the St. Louis Fed’s public speakers bureau.
  • 3,777
    students, teachers and other visitors from 115 schools and community groups welcomed at the St. Louis Fed’s Economy Museum.
  • 28,505
    bankers, regulators and other industry participants in webinars and in-person information sessions held on timely financial and regulatory developments.
  • 530,000+
    students reached through educators who attended St. Louis Fed economic education programs.
  • 537,000+
    active engagements in the Bank’s Econ Lowdown online economic education curriculum.
  • 4,806
    attendees at St. Louis Fed public dialogue and outreach events in St. Louis, Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis.
  • 19
    new students appointed to the St. Louis Fed’s student board of directors.
  • 35
    college and 6 high school students served as interns for the Bank.

Providing Thought Leadership through Scholarly Economic Research

  St. Louis Fed's Director of Research Christopher Waller (right), pictured with Bank President James Bullard, was nominated on Jan. 28, 2020, to serve on the Fed's Board of Governors.


  • Top 3%
    ranking for President James Bullard on RePEc in a number of categories, including the h-index.RePEc is Research Papers in Economics. The h-index, or Hirsch index, is a compound measure of publications and citations used to highlight research productivity.
  • #8
    in research productivity among all central bank research departments worldwide.
    • #33 among all U.S. research institutions.
    • #42 among all research institutions worldwide.
  • 44 million
    page views of the St. Louis Fed’s research site by people in 193 United Nations countries.
  • 3 million
    economic research items from around the world available to search and download for free via IDEAS.IDEAS is the world’s largest bibliographic database dedicated to economics. This service is hosted by the St. Louis Fed’s Research division.
  • 665,809
    data series in FRED®, the St. Louis Fed’s free economic database.
  • 126,984
    page views for GeoFRED®, a tool that allows users to create, customize and share geographical maps of data found in FRED.
  • 574,107
    items in FRASER®, the St. Louis Fed’s historical digital library, with materials dating from 1791 to 2019.

Fostering Financial Stability and Soundness

  The St. Louis Fed inspects more than 1 billion currency notes each year.


  • 128
    state member banks and 427 bank and savings and loan holding companies supervised by the St. Louis Fed.
  • 1.109 billion
    currency notes inspected.
    • 955 million notes deemed fit for circulation.
    • 154 million notes removed from circulation and shredded.
  • 2,076
    suspect counterfeit notes withdrawn from circulation.
  • $31 million
    in improper and stopped payments identified by the St. Louis Fed in its role as fiscal agent to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Do Not Pay program, helping federal agencies eliminate payment error, waste, fraud and abuse.Total is for 2019 federal government fiscal year.
  • 24,585
    hours spent by internal auditors reviewing St. Louis Fed operations.

Sharing Timely Information about the Economy and the Fed

  RIGHT: Our Women in Economics podcast series highlights the studies and careers of those making their marks in the field of economics. The series has featured prominent women such as Anna Opoku-Agyeman (top left) and Fanta Traore (top right) of the Sadie Collective and Kate Warne (bottom), a principal and investment strategist at Edward Jones.


  • 848,210
    page views of the On the Economy and Open Vault blogs, which feature economic research and analysis, explain everyday economics and spotlight what makes the St. Louis Fed central to America’s economy.
  • 415,884
    page views for Regional Economist, providing insights on economic issues in today's headlines—now in its 27th year of publication.
    • 9,683
      followers on Facebook.
    • 13,233
      followers on LinkedIn.
    • 98,528
      followers on Twitter.
  • 354,576
    page views for the FRED Blog, which provides insight and analysis on key data found in FRED.
  • 90
    articles in the Bank’s Central Banker monthly e-newsletter, sampling everything from academic research to practical lessons on personal finance.
  • 18,824
    downloads of Timely Topics and Women in Economics podcast series episodes, which feature discussions with bank economists and subject matter experts and career journey discussion with noted women around the globe who are making their marks in the field of economics.
  • 17,176
    views of Voices of the Fed videos, featuring St. Louis Fed board and advisory council members’ Main Street perspectives.

Embracing Diversity and Inclusion

Nearly 150 St. Louis Fed employees form a rainbow on the Bank plaza on June 18, 2019, in support of LGBTQ+ pride.


  • 100
    —a perfect score earned for a fourth straight year in the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool for policies and practices pertinent to LGBTQ+ employees.
  • 65
    vendors attended the Bank’s supplier diversity outreach workshops aimed at fostering economic development in our communities.
  • 95%
    of inner-city, majority-minority and all-girls high schools across the Eighth District reached by the St. Louis Fed’s economic education resources.
  • 32%
    of the Bank’s workforce engaged in employee-led resource groups, which are focused on African Americans, Asians, Latin Americans, women, people with disabilities, military veterans and the LGBTQ+ community.

Doing Good for the Sake of Good

  James Price, group vice president, Support Services, speaks at a Bank United Way rally.


  • 134,084
    pounds of waste recycled and 122,640 pounds of waste (including food) composted as a result of the Bank’s Zero Waste initiative.
  • $247,443
    in employee donations to the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
  • $41,632
    raised by employees to help support food banks and feeding programs for the needy in the St. Louis area.
  • 1,320
    school items donated by employees to the Bank’s Back-to-School Supply Drive to benefit area students.
  • 36
    employee volunteers for Teach Children to Save Day at elementary schools in the St. Louis area.

Endnotes

  1. RePEc is Research Papers in Economics. The h-index, or Hirsch index, is a compound measure of publications and citations used to highlight research productivity.
  2. IDEAS is the world’s largest bibliographic database dedicated to economics. This service, provided by RePEc, is hosted by the St. Louis Fed’s Research division.
  3. Total is for 2019 federal government fiscal year.
  4. Does not include time spent on training, administrative work and special projects.
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