Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco


The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States. The twelfth district is made up of nine western states—Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—plus the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. The San Francisco Fed has branch offices in Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. It also has a cash processing center in Phoenix.
The twelfth district is the nation's largest by area and population, covering, or 36% of the nation's area, and 60 million people. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the second-largest by assets held, after New York. In 2004 the San Francisco Fed processed 20.8 billion currency notes and 1.5 billion commercial checks.
The Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco has one of the largest collections of US paper money in the United States, which is displayed in the American Currency Exhibit.
Mary C. Daly serves as the President and CEO as of October 1, 2018. Notable former Presidents include John C. Williams, who now holds the same role at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is Vice Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, as well as Janet Yellen, who held the role of Chair of the Board of Governors from 2014 to 2018.
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History

The San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank opened for business in rented quarters at the rear of the Merchants National Bank on November 16, 1914, in order to make the reserve provisions of the Federal Reserve Act. In 1924, the San Francisco staff moved out of temporary locations and into the Bank's newly built headquarters at 400 Sansome Street, a location that it would occupy for the next 60 years. In 1983, the bank relocated to 101 Market Street.

Branches

After the bank's creation, a number of branches were opened to provide services across the district.
Although not a stand-alone branch, the bank opened the Phoenix Cash Processing Center in 2001.

Buildings

The old headquarters building of the bank, designed by George W. Kelham, has an Ionic colonnade that is pure Beaux-Arts, while the upper building is in the new Moderne fashion of 1924. The lobby with murals by Jules Guerin who created the palette for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition. In 1983 the bank relocated to larger and more modern facilities on 101 Market Street as the 400 Sansome Street location was sold to private developers who rented out the space. Prominent law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe was headquartered in the building until 2002 when the firm moved out of the space. The building continues to be owned by private developers and current tenants include the Bar Association of San Francisco. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The old 1929 Los Angeles branch building is also NRHP-listed. In 1987 the branch relocated to an adjacent new building at the corner of South Grand Ave and Olympic Blvd.
From 1951 to 2008, the Seattle branch was headquartered at the Federal Reserve Bank Building in Downtown Seattle, which had been built in 1951 for the branch and is listed on the NRHP.

Board of directors

The following people serve on the board of directors as of 2025:
NameTitleClassTerm Expires
Jeffrey NewgardChairman, president, and CEO, Bank of Idaho, Idaho Falls, IdahoA2025
Clint SteinCEO, Umpqua Bank, Tacoma, WashingtonA2027
Laura Lee StewartPresident and CEO, Sound Community Bank and Sound Financial Bancorporation, Seattle, WashingtonA2026
Maritza DiazCEO, ITJ USA, San Diego, CaliforniaB2025
Karin KimbroughChief Economist, LinkedIn, Sunnyvale, CaliforniaB2026
Jack SinclairCEO, Sprouts Farmers Market, Phoenix, ArizonaB2024
Russell Childs President and CEO, SkyWest, Inc., St. George, UtahC2026
Mario CorderoCEO, Port of Long Beach, Long Beach, CaliforniaC2025
Pallavi Mehta Wahi Seattle Managing Partner, K&L Gates LLP, Seattle, WashingtonC2027

Governors and presidents

The position was installed under the title of "Governor" until the Banking Act of 1935 abolished the dual role of governor and agent and created a single leadership role – president.
#PortraitCEOLife spanTerm startTerm endTenure lengthRef
Governors-------
1Archibald C. Kains1865–1944November 25, 1914July 5, 1917
2James K. Lynch*1857–1919August 7, 1917April 26, 1919
3John U. Calkins1863–1954May 6, 1919February 29, 1936
Presidents-------
4William A. Day1876–1951April 1, 1936December 31, 1945
5Ira Clerk*1885–1946January 1, 1946September 28, 1946
6C. E. Earhart1890–1982October 17, 1946February 28, 1956
7Hermann N. Mangels1897–1961March 1, 1956February 28, 1961
8Eliot J. Swan1911–1998March 1, 1961June 1, 1972
9John J. Balles†1921–2005September 25, 1972February 1, 1986
10Robert T. Parry†1939-February 4, 1986June 1, 2004
11Janet Yellen1946–June 14, 2004October 4, 2010
12John C. Williams1962–March 1, 2011June 17, 2018
13Mary C. Daly1962-October 1, 2018Incumbent

†Stepped down due to reaching retirement age
*Died in office