COVID-19 and the St. Louis Fed
January 3, 2022, Message from President Bullard
James Bullard is the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Since early 2020, the world has been coping with the global health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the U.S., we experienced a sharp recession that lasted for two months in 2020, as public health measures adopted to contain the virus had a substantial impact on the economy.
However, people are learning to adapt to the risks posed by COVID-19. Many businesses have found ways to continue producing their goods and services, and households have found ways to consume, work and save during the pandemic. This adaptation combined with the responses from U.S. policymakers and the arrival of vaccines have led to rapid economic growth since the recession ended. In fact, the level of U.S. output has already surpassed its pre-pandemic peak—a much faster recovery than the one that followed the financial crisis of 2007-09.
As with any crisis, there continue to be twists and turns with the pandemic, such as new variants of the virus, but businesses and households continue adapting to meet new challenges that arise.
At the St. Louis Fed, we have remained a highly productive organization. As the pandemic has unfolded and vaccines become widely available, we have been able to safely return a majority of our employees to our facilities. Now, like so many others across the country, we have adopted a new hybrid working model. Of course, with this return to the office, the health and safety of our employees continues to be a top priority, which is why we are requiring employees to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations.
The hybrid model provides new opportunities but also new challenges in a post-pandemic world. As always, we remain focused on carrying out our public service mission and on promoting the stability of the financial system as well as our congressional mandate of achieving maximum sustainable employment and price stability. No matter where we are working, we will continue working toward those goals.
Sincerely,
James Bullard
President and CEO
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
COVID-19 is having a profound effect on people and economies here and around the world. These are challenging times, and the Federal Reserve System is united in a common goal: to serve the American people. The Federal Open Market Committee—of which I am a participant—has authorized the Federal Reserve to take action by lowering the targeted range for the federal funds rate, enhancing liquidity in financial markets and facilitating increased lending by financial institutions during this disruptive period. We are driven by our public service mission, our responsibility to promote the stability of the financial system, and by our congressional mandate to foster maximum sustainable employment and price stability.
At the St. Louis Fed and at our branches in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn., we are carrying out our mission while actively monitoring the developments of the spread of COVID-19 and its ongoing impact on our nation, our District and our workforce. As such, we remain open for business and focused on delivering our important responsibilities while being mindful of the safety and well-being of our workforce and the communities we serve.
Effective March 16, we are operating on a full-time remote work status for all staff with the exception of those staff in essential on-site operations, such as cash processing, law enforcement and certain facility functions. We have robust business continuity plans in place that focus on ensuring that all critical functions will continue. Our services are operational, and we do not anticipate any business disruption.
This page contains additional resource links from the St. Louis Fed and other organizations that may be helpful to you during this unprecedented time.
COVID-19 Information from the Federal Reserve System
- FRED Dashboards: Economic Conditions and Financial Conditions
- Timeline of Events Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Federal Reserve Board of Governors' COVID-19 page
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Low- to Moderate-Income Communities and the Entities Serving Them
Consumer Resources
Note on scams and fraud: Consumers should be wary of fraudulent solicitations that appear to be made with approval/involvement of the Federal Reserve, Fed officials, or other U.S. government officials. Such offers often promise bogus financial services or sums of money in exchange for either payment or personal information that is used later to commit fraud or theft. The Fed provides banking services only to banks and does not communicate directly with consumers on financial matters. There are no individual accounts in Federal Reserve Banks, and the Fed has no involvement in these solicitations.
COVID-19 Economic Research
View the most current research related to the COVID-19 pandemic from the economists and staff of the St. Louis Fed.
