The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, is the Fed's chief body for monetary policy. Its voting membership combines the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and four other Reserve Bank presidents who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis with the other Reserve Bank presidents.
The FOMC typically meets eight times a year in Washington, D.C., or by teleconference as necessary. Inside of the meetings, the FOMC works with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to control the four tools of monetary policy: the reserve requirement, open market operations, the discount rate and interest on excess reserves.
