But, in the aftermath of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, it became clear that such decentralization had prevented the Fed from formulating and implementing a coherent monetary policy. The heads of the regional banks were “downgraded” from governors to “presidents” – the first and only time in US history when the transition from governor to president was a demotion – and power was centralized in the Board of Governors based in Washington, DC.
但是，在20世纪30年代的大萧条之后，这样的分权显然阻碍了美联储制定和实施连贯的货币政策。区域性银行领导人被从总裁“降级”为“主席”——在美国历史上第一次也是唯一一次出现从总裁向主席降级的现象——权力因此集中到了华盛顿特区的联邦储备委员会。