At the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, applicants for research assistant positions in the Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems generally have training in econometrics, mathematical statistics, or both, as well as a facility with statistical packages such as SAS or a programming language such as C. The position also requires training in economics through the intermediate theory level. In addition, study in areas such as advanced microeconomic theory, money and banking, finance, and industrial organization is useful.
One of the primary missions of the Board of Governors is to regulate and improve the nation's payment system, which transmits each business day more than $3 trillion to pay for goods, services, and financial instruments.
As part of that mission, the Board's Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems oversees the policies and operations of the Federal Reserve Banks as providers of financial services to depository institutions and as providers of fiscal agency services to the U.S. Treasury and other government agencies.
The division also develops policies and regulations to foster the integrity and efficiency of the U.S. payment system, works closely with other central banks and international organizations to improve the payment system more broadly, and conducts research and studies on various payment issues.
This program is the division's primary research arm. The program analyzes policy issues associated with emerging and established payment mechanisms and disseminates information on payment and settlement systems and issues. The program undertakes original research into longer-range payment and settlement topics, including the interrelationships among systems, long-run technological trends and their economic and risk implications, systemic risk, and interbank and correspondent banking relationships.
The program's staff helps formulate Federal Reserve payment and settlement policy. It also supports the Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payments and Settlement Systems with analyses and information regarding the ways that central banks can promote improved settlement services, netting schemes, and cross-border and multicurrency settlement services.
