The Federal Reserve Bank and Memphis

Martha Perrine-Beard

Most people think the Federal Reserve Bank’s major purpose is to decide whether interest rates will rise or fall. More recently, the Federal Reserve Bank  has been actively involved in trying to address the nation’s economic collapse

For people in Memphis, the Federal Reserve Bank (the FED) is a major player in trying to educate people about the financial problems they face. In Memphis, the FED is especially concerned about people losing their homes in foreclosure.

This educational role is in addition to the Bank’s responsibility for providing for the cash needs of banks in the region, monitoring banks in the region, and analyzing economic activity in the region. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks in the nation. The St. Louis Bank has branches in Louisville, Little Rock, and Memphis.

Led by   Martha Perrine Beard, the Memphis Branch of the Federal Bank of St. Louis actively supports a number of community organizations and causes.

Perrine- Beard, who has been the Senior Branch Executive of the of the Memphis Branch of the  Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 1997, is responsible for the 150 Federal Reserve Bank employees in Memphis. She says that a major part of the FED’s role in community like Memphis, is to help educate low and moderate-income citizens about ways to improve their financial lives.

With growing numbers of people, losing their homes the FED is active in identifying areas of the community with high numbers of sub-prime mortgagees and mortgage delinquencies. Working with community organizations and coalitions the Memphis FED is attempting to help average citizens find ways to keep their homes.

Perrine-Beard says,” that a combination of bad choices by homeowners and in some cases misleading claims by lenders” have caused many people to lose their homes. She also feels that during the housing boom, “many first time home buyers tried to buy the largest and most expensive home for which they could get a loan often with no money down.” With home values falling and higher monthly payments for adjustable rate mortgages, too many people simply can no longer afford their house payments.

In addition to the current housing crisis, the Memphis area has a history of high numbers of people filing for bankruptcy each year. Perrine-Beard says that some of her efforts” are aimed at helping young people learn to handle their finances”.  The savings rate of people throughout the nation is so low that when people face unexpected bills they have no resources to tide them over. Perrine-Beard says that the FED has a consumer website (www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov) which can answer questions people have.

As the face of the Federal Reserve Bank in Memphis, Perrine –Beard is an active volunteer for a number of community agencies. She is on the boards of directors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Memphis Regional Chamber, the United Way of the Mid South, the Baptist College of Health Sciences, the RISE Foundation, the Mid South Minority Business Council, the Better Business Bureau, the Leadership Academy, and United Housing Inc. While she admits that her volunteer activities are many, she says her “peers on the boards are also great resources if I need information regarding a certain segment of the Memphis economy”. She also says that all the boards she serves on are well organized and well run.

Regina Walker, the Senior Vice President for Community Impact at the United Way of the Mid South, says, “Martha-Perrine Beard is a phenomenal leader. She is remarkable in how she uses her time as both a community leader and an executive with the Federal Board. “Walker says that Perrine-Beard has helped “the United Way become more responsive to community needs and to become more efficient and effective in addressing those needs.”

Perrine-Beard received her bachelor’s degree in business from what is now Clark-Atlanta University and a master’s degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis. She joined the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis after completing her master’s degree. Perrine –Beard is married and the mother of three children.