St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank To Conduct Search for New President

ST. LOUIS — The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis announced today that it is beginning the search for a successor to President and CEO William Poole, who will retire from that position in March 2008. Federal Reserve System policy requires a president who begins service after the age of 55, to retire upon reaching 10 years of service. Poole, 70, assumed the presidency in March 1998.

Irl F. Engelhardt, Chairman of the St. Louis Fed's Board of Directors, will head a search committee to identify candidates to succeed Poole.

"For many years, the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank has played a noteworthy role in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy," Engelhardt said. "Our goal is to select a president who will maintain that tradition and help the St. Louis Bank play an important role in the Federal Reserve System as it adapts to a changing operating environment."

With branches in Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis serves the Eighth Federal Reserve District, which includes all of Arkansas, eastern Missouri, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, western Tennessee and northern Mississippi. The St. Louis Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., comprise the Federal Reserve System. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates U.S. monetary policy, regulates state-chartered member banks and bank holding companies, and provides payment services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.

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