For release: March 19, 2001
Contact: Joe Elstner, (314) 444-8902; Charles B. Henderson, (314) 444-8311

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Awarded Treasury Relations Office

ST. LOUIS -- The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis will coordinate the provision of financial services on behalf of the Federal Reserve System to the largest user of those services -- the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Financial Services Policy Committee, the Federal Reserve's decision-making body for financial services, recently awarded the new "Treasury Relations and Support Office" to the St. Louis Fed. LeGrande Rives, the Bank's first vice president, will add "Treasury Relationship Manager" to his duties. David Sapenaro, senior vice president, will also become "Function Manager," with Judie Courtney, vice president, adding "Deputy Function Manager" duties.

Rives noted that although the net gain in jobs is small (eight new positions), the gain in responsibility for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is "huge." "Treasury payments for the Federal Reserve System services we'll oversee are about $250 million per year," Rives said. "We'll work with a number of Treasury entities, such as the Bureau of Public Debt, which is responsible for marketable Treasury securities and savings bonds, and the Financial Management Service, which is responsible for debt collection programs, government check and direct deposit/direct payment processing, deposit reporting systems, tax collection and direct investments. We'll also work closely with the Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, which sets policy and strategic direction for the other two entities and administers government financing operations and fiscal affairs."

Rives said acquiring the new responsibilities "will increase the St. Louis Fed's visibility within the Federal Reserve System and certainly within the Treasury Department. This kind of responsibility also provides the opportunity for many other St. Louis Fed employees to be involved in new and challenging assignments."

Rives noted that the St. Louis Fed has worked closely with the Treasury Department for a number of years. "This expands our relationship with them to include acting on behalf of the entire Federal Reserve System to help Treasury accomplish their goals efficiently and cost-effectively," he said.

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. Besides serving as a bank for depository institutions and the U.S. government, each Reserve Bank monitors economic conditions in the District, participates in formulating monetary policy and supervises state-chartered member banks and bank holding companies to foster safety and soundness of the District's banking and financial institutions and to protect consumers' credit rights.

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