The Atlanta Fed has longstanding ties to the Americas. In 2005, to ensure that Atlanta Fed staff work together effectively and communicate efficiently with all of our constituencies, we launched the Americas Center. Since then, the Americas Center has been a vibrant hub of cooperation among Atlanta Fed staff, who have collaborated extensively with the Bank's external partners. In 2013, the Americas Center continued to exhibit thought leadership on key policy and regulatory issues of direct relevance to the Bank's mission. Examples of these efforts include:
- A Miami conference on "Banking Challenges and Opportunities in an Era of Global Crisis: Prospects for South Florida and Latin America," cosponsored with the Florida International Bankers Association.
- The Retail Payments Office's work in support of the Western Hemisphere Payments Initiative, which would establish a regional payments hub that would link many payment systems of the hemisphere's central banks.
- The Workshop on International Economics, cosponsored with New York University's Stern School of Business, which featured new research from leading economists.
- The Miami Branch's leadership role in the bilingual rollout of the new $100 note.
In addition to these and other accomplishments highlighted in this Annual Review, the Sixth Federal Reserve District's ties to Latin America have flourished and the Americas Center's range of activity has expanded. In day-to-day operations, Atlanta Fed colleagues continued to collaborate with one another to improve their understanding of the region. In banking supervision, our multilingual specialists provided foreign technical assistance. The Country Risk and Foreign Banking Organization (FBO) Analysis team enhanced their analysis of country and regional banking sector risk fundamentals and their linkages to global developments. Atlanta Fed Cash Operations in the Miami Branch, which serves 38 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, met the challenges of providing U.S. banknotes for foreign institutions.
In 2013, the Americas Center worked with stakeholders in the Atlanta Fed and the Federal Reserve System, as well as public and private stakeholders, to provide leadership in key supervisory, financial, and economic matters. In 2014, as we enter our 10th year, we will build on this foundation.