The Federal Reserve System was created in the early 1900s in an effort to decentralize the central bank. The founders did not want one central bank located in New York or Washington, DC, so they formed a system with 12 district banks. The second reason for the Federal Reserve System was that communication and transportation were much slower and less efficient than today. In an effort to maintain control and offer assistance to member banks, it was necessary to disperse Federal Reserve facilities across the country.
