The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was established in 1914, after the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. The Eighth Federal Reserve District is headquartered in St. Louis and has branches in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn.

The District includes all of Arkansas and portions of six other states: Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. The St. Louis Bank serves most of eastern Missouri and southern Illinois.

As one of the 12 regional Reserve banks in the Fed System, the St. Louis Fed is central to America's economy. All of the Reserve banks share some degree of similar duties. But because the banks are independent of one another, each has some specialized assignments and tasks that distinguish it. The St. Louis Bank’s five most-critical functions can be described as follows:

• We promote stable prices and economic growth.
• We foster a sound financial system.
• We provide payment services to financial institutions.
• We support the U.S. Treasury's financial operations.
• We advance economic knowledge, community development and fair access to credit.