List of Member Banks--Stockholders and Owners--of the Federal Reserve Bank

The following is a complete list of members of and stockholders in the Federal Reserve Bank.  The list includes all regions.  I obtained it through a Freedom of Information Act request. The request and the Fed's response are as follows.  The Fed did not respond to my second request, which was for information about the law governing the fiduciary status of its stockholders.  

My inquiry

Dear FOIA Officer: 

Pursuant to the federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, I request access to and copies of a list of all (a) stockholders of and, if there are any differences, (b) member banks and other financial institutions of the Federal Reserve Bank. The list would include all members and stockholders in all regions and all types of institutions, including but not limited to national banks and state banks. I agree to pay reasonable duplication fees for the processing of this request up to $150. If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. I will also expect you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material. I, of course, reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any information or to deny a waiver of fees. I look forward to your reply within 20 business days, as the statute requires. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.  mlangbert@hvc.rr.com  

The Fed's response

Dear Dr. Langbert,

 This is in response to your email message dated April 15, 2014, and received by the Board’s Freedom of Information Office on April 16, 2014, in which you request copies of a list of all (a) stockholders of and, if there are any differences, (b) member banks and other financial institutions of the Federal Reserve Bank. Attached is a list of institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve System. We are also providing you with a link to the Board’s website regarding information about stock issues.

Comment

 The link about stock issues says this:

Federal Reserve Act

Section 5. Stock Issues; Increase and Decrease of Capital

1. Amount of shares; increase and decrease of capital; surrender and cancellation of stock

The capital stock of each Federal reserve bank shall be divided into shares of $100 each. The outstanding capital stock 
shall be increased from time to time as member banks increase their capital stock and surplus or as additional banks 
become members, and may be decreased as member banks reduce their capital stock or surplus or cease to be members. 
Shares of the capital stock of Federal reserve banks owned by member banks shall not be transferred or hypothecated. 
When a member bank increases its capital stock or surplus, it shall thereupon subscribe for an additional amount of 
capital stock of the Federal reserve bank of its district equal to 6 per centum of the said increase, one-half of said 
subscription to be paid in the manner hereinbefore provided for original subscription, and one-half subject to call 
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A bank applying for stock in a Federal reserve bank at 
any time after the organization thereof must subscribe for an amount of the capital stock of the Federal reserve bank 
equal to 6 per centum of the paid-up capital stock and surplus of said applicant bank, paying therefor its par value plus o
ne-half of 1 per centum a month from the period of the last dividend. When a member bank reduces its capital stock or 
surplus it shall surrender a proportionate amount of its holdings in the capital stock of said Federal Reserve bank. 
Any member bank which holds capital stock of a Federal Reserve bank in excess of the amount required on the 
basis of 6 per centum of its paid-up capital stock and surplus shall surrender such excess stock. When a member 
bank voluntarily liquidates it shall surrender all of its holdings of the capital stock of said Federal Reserve bank and 
be released from its stock subscription not previously called. In any such case the shares surrendered shall be 
canceled and the member bank shall receive in payment therefor, under regulations to be prescribed by the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a sum equal to its cash-paid subscriptions on the shares surrendered and 
one-half of 1 per centum a month from the period of the last dividend, not to exceed the book value thereof, less any 
liability of such member bank to the Federal Reserve bank.

I mailed the Fed the following inquiry, to which it did not respond:

I teach business at Brooklyn College and have a question; maybe you can help me or direct me to the best person to ask.  Normally, corporation law applies to  corporations in the state in which the corporation is domiciled. For instance, the common law of Delaware applies to the many corporations domiciled in Delaware.

(1) As a corporation owned by its members but authorized by federal law and governed in part through the political process, what body of common law or federal statutory interpretation applies to the Fed? Is it the law of the states where the district Feds are located, federal law, federal regulation, or some other body of law?

(2) As a corollary of (1), where is the Fed domiciled for application of law concerning governance, fiduciary versus business judgment responsibility of its board, and similar kinds of governance issues: Washington, DC; the states where the branches are located; both; or elsewhere?

(3) Is there a specific statute or section of the Federal Reserve Act that concerns governance,  the governors’ fiduciary duty to members, and  what that fiduciary duty would constitute given the Fed’s broad social mandates (reduction in unemployment, reducing inflation, and the like)?

Is there someone at the Fed (maybe a legal officer) who knows the answers to these questions?

Thanks for  your help.

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.  

This is the list of Fed member banks and stockholders. It should be available on Scribd by clicking on the link. 

  G-2014-0202 Responsive List (1) List of Member Banks of the Federal Reserve Bank