Jeanne Crain, president and chief executive officer of Bremer Financial Corp. in St. Paul, Minn., was elected by the member banks in Group 1 as a Class A director and will serve a three-year term. Crain joined Bremer Financial Corp. in 2012, after serving as president of the Minnesota region for BMO Harris Bank.
Crain is succeeding Class A director Randy Newman, chairman and chief executive officer of Alerus Financial N.A. and Alerus Financial Corp., Grand Forks, N.D. Newman’s term will end on December 31, 2018.
The Class A group of directors is elected to the board of directors by member banks to represent member banks and includes Catherine T. Kelly, regional president of PNC Bank Minneapolis-St. Paul, in Minneapolis , and Thomas Armstrong, president of First National Bank of Park Falls, Park Falls, Wis.
Sarah Walsh, chief operating officer of PayneWest Insurance, Helena, Mont., was elected by member banks in Group 1 as a Class B director and will serve a three-year term. Walsh joined PayneWest Insurance in 1993 and is currently serving as the board chair for the Helena Branch board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Walsh is succeeding Class B director Christine Hamilton, managing partner of Christiansen Land and Cattle Ltd., Kimball, S.D. Hamilton’s term will end on December 31, 2018.
The Class B group of directors is elected by member banks to represent the public and includes David Emery, chairman and chief executive officer of Black Hills Corp. in Rapid City, S.D, and Kathleen Neset, president of Neset Consulting Service in Tioga, N.D.
About the board of directors
Minneapolis Fed directors are selected to represent a cross section of the Ninth District economy, including consumers, industry, agriculture, the service sector, labor, and commercial banks of various sizes. Pursuant to the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis board has nine members, with three Class A directors representing the member banks and three each of Class B and C directors, selected to represent the public with “due but not exclusive consideration to the interests of agriculture, commerce, industry, services, labor, and consumers.” Member banks are stockholders of the Reserve Bank in their district and, as such, are required to hold 3 percent of their capital as stock in their Reserve Banks. The Class A and B directors are elected by member banks, and the Class C directors are appointed by the Board of Governors, which also designates the board’s chair and deputy chair from among its three appointees.
The responsibilities of directors are broad, ranging from overseeing the general operations of the Minneapolis Fed to reporting on district economic conditions. This information helps prepare the Minneapolis Fed president for participation in Federal Open Market Committee meetings, where decisions are made about monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations, and provides a variety of payments services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.