Introduction to the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee)

What does “FOMC” stand for? The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, is the Fed’s chief body for monetary policy. Its voting membership combines:

• The 7 members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. They are permanent voting members.
• The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who also is a permanent voting member.
• 4 other Federal Reserve Bank presidents, from among the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. They serve 1-year terms on a rotating basis.

By tradition, the Chairman of the FOMC is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors.

How Often the FOMC Meets

The Federal Open Market Committee typically meets 8 times a year in the Board Room at the Eccles Building in Washington, D.C. When necessary, members will meet by a teleconference. If economic conditions require additional meetings, the FOMC can and does meet more often.

At each regularly scheduled 2-day FOMC meeting:

• A senior official at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York discusses developments in the financial and foreign exchange markets, as well as activities of the New York Fed’s Trading Desk, where U.S. government securities are bought and sold.
• Staff from the Board of Governors then present their economic and financial forecasts.
• The Board’s Governors and all 12 Reserve Bank presidents — whether they are voting members that year or not — offer their assessments of recent developments and views on the economic outlook.

Armed with this wealth of up-to-date national, international, and regional information, the FOMC discusses the monetary policy options that would best move the economy toward the Fed’s dual mandate objectives given by Congress: maximum employment and price stability. The FOMC meeting concludes with a decision on the stance of policy.

How It Works: The FOMC Voting Rotation Among Reserve Banks

Most Federal Reserve Bank presidents serve 1-year terms on the Federal Open Market Committee, on a 3-year rotating schedule. The presidents of the Cleveland and Chicago Feds serve on a 2-year rotating schedule. For example, in Year 1, the presidents of the Boston, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Kansas City Feds serve as voting members.

All Reserve Bank presidents attend FOMC meetings, even when they are not designated voting members.

Why was it set up this way? To ensure that monetary policy decisions reflect diverse regional economic perspectives. Here is a quick history, from the Kansas City Fed, of the evolution of the FOMC voting rotation.

Want to easily see who is voting on the FOMC now through the year 2050? This St. Louis Fed blog post and interactive graphic — The FOMC Voting Rotation, Explained — show you which Federal Reserve Districts’ presidents are currently FOMC voting members for any given year. You can also get the information from our blog in a downloadable format.