The Federal Reserve System was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law.

Quick Scoop: What that means

  • The Federal Reserve Act was passed after a series of banking panics, especially the Panic of 1907, exposed how fragile the U.S. financial system was.
  • The new central bank was designed to provide a more stable, flexible, and safer monetary and financial system for the United States.
  • Although the law was signed in December 1913, the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks actually opened for business in November 1914.

In short: if you’re ever asked “when was the Federal Reserve created,” the key date is December 23, 1913.

TL;DR: The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, by the Federal Reserve Act, to fix recurring banking panics and stabilize the U.S. financial system.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.