The twelve regional Federal Banks work closely with the banks in their region and are closely tied into their regional economies. The development of Federal Reserve policy is greatly enriched by the in-depth knowledge that the regional banks have of the industrial, agricultural and financial forces shaping different parts of the economy.
The challenge confronting strategic planning at the Federal Reserve is to find a balance between decentralized regional planning, which preserves the strengths of the regional structure, and the need for a more comprehensive national plan aimed at increasing efficiency by rationalizing the allocation of resources across regions and functions.