The New Paradigm - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

27
Financial Services
In 1999 the Dallas Fed continued
to offer financial institutions enhanced
services and technology to
support a stable and efficient payments
system. Through seminars
and advisory groups, the Dallas Fed
gained insights from customers into
the value of Federal Reserve payments
services and their use of Bank
products and services.
Through its role as the support
Bank for the Reserve Banks using
IBM check processing equipment,
the Dallas Fed contributed to planning
for a new processing infrastructure
that will enhance and standardize
Reserve Bank check services. All
Reserve Banks will move to the new
processing platform over the next
few years.
The Dallas Fed experienced a
record year in currency operations,
processing nearly 2.1 billion Federal
Reserve notes. Currency inventory
was increased in anticipation of the
Y2K needs of District financial institutions.
The Dallas Office provided
warehousing services for the new
notes and for notes from other
Reserve Banks. The Dallas Fed also
helped prepare for Y2K by processing
excess currency for other Reserve
Banks.
A Dallas Fed official led the Federal
Reserve’s effort to identify strategic
locations, accessible to financial
institutions across the country, for
storing currency during the century
rollover. This major leadership effort
required coordination among all Federal
Reserve Banks, all locations and
the armored carrier industry.
The healthy regional economy
and strong business climate were
reflected in the volume of payment
services items processed in 1999.
The volume of processed checks rose
by 4.4 percent, and more payment
transactions moved to electronic
delivery. The number of items presented
electronically rose to 22.4
percent of all items processed, and
the volume of commercial auto-
mated clearinghouse (ACH) transactions
increased by 14.3 percent.
The Dallas Fed began providing
three new services for the U.S. Treasury
last year. The department’s
Bureau of the Public Debt consolidated
36 sites handling Treasury securities
into three Fed offices—Dallas,
Boston and Minneapolis—to improve
customer service and reduce costs.
The Dallas Fed also was selected as
the nation’s central processor for Treasury
coupons. Additionally, the Treasury
Department chose the Dallas Fed
to manage the national Electronic
Transfer Account (ETA SM ) program,
which will target millions of federal
benefit recipients currently receiving
payment by check.
The century rollover presented the
Dallas Fed and the financial industry
with a unique challenge last year.
Extensive preparations and close
working relationships with customers
ensured a high level of readiness that
paid off in a quiet, orderly transition
from l999 to the year 2000.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 1999 ANNUAL REPORT