The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announced the formation of a 15-member Community Advisory Council (CAC) to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Board on emerging economic issues and relevant policy matters, according to an announcement from the Fed.
While the CAC will advise the Fed on a broad range of issues and offer diverse perspectives on economic circumstances of different consumers and communities, the council's particular focus will be on concerns of low- and moderate-income areas. Fed Chair Janet Yellen and other officials have been meeting with representatives from these areas for the last few months to hear their concerns.
In a sign that the Fed is becoming more community-oriented, President Obama announced earlier this month the nomination of Allan Landon, a community banker, to fill one of the two empty seats on the Fed's seven-seat Board of Governors. The Fed has not had a governor with community banking experience since Elizabeth Duke retired in August 2013.
Members of the CAC will be selected by the Fed through a public nomination process and will serve staggered three-year terms. The first meeting between the CAC and the Fed is planned for the fourth quarter of 2015, and the council will subsequently meet semiannually.
The Fed previously had a consumer advisory council to advise the Board on consumer regulatory issues, but that council dissolved in 2011 when Dodd-Frank charged the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with issues regarding consumer protection and regulation.