What Are the Federal Reserve Holidays in 2022? 11 Holidays Next Year
The Federal Reserve will observe 11 standard holidays in 2022. Which Federal Reserve holidays will be observed in 2022 and what are the dates?
Nov. 29 2021, Published 12:10 p.m. ET
The Federal Reserve System, which operates the 12 Federal Reserve banks across the country, was established in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson. It's mandated to support goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.
The Federal Reserve and its banks and branches take a standard 11 specific holidays each year. On those holidays, the banks and branches are all closed for business. The Federal Reserve observes holidays including New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day.
Which holidays does the Fed observe?
The same general calendar is observed every year for Federal Reserve holidays. When holidays fall on weekends, there are guidelines to follow for when the banks and branches close.
If a holiday lands on a Saturday, the Federal Reserve banks and branches are closed on the preceding Friday. However, when the date of a holiday falls on a Sunday, the Fed closes its banks and branches the following Monday.
These are the dates of the Federal Reserve holidays in 2022:
New Year’s Day: January 1, 2022
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: January 17, 2022
Washington’s Birthday/Presidents Day: February 21, 2022
Memorial Day: May 30, 2022
Juneteenth National Independence Day: June 19, 2022 (observed on June 20, 2022)
Independence Day: July 4, 2022
Labor Day: September 5, 2022
Columbus Day: October 10, 2022
Veterans Day: November 11, 2022
Thanksgiving Day: November 24, 2022
Christmas Day: December 25, 2022 (observed on December 26, 2022)
The dates of all the planned Federal Reserve closures are available through 2025 at FRBServices.org.
Most of the Fed’s holidays are the same as those observed by the stock market exchanges. The Friday before Easter is usually a stock market holiday but not a Federal Reserve holiday.
How are the Federal Reserve banks structured?
The Federal Reserve system has 12 member banks and a total of 25 branches. The 12 member Federal Reserve banks are located in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.
The Federal Reserve, or simply “the Fed,” is one of three federal regulatory agencies overseeing U.S. banks. The remaining two agencies are the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
The Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy, promotes consumer protection, and promotes financial system stability, among other goals. The current chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will conclude his term in February 2022. President Biden has nominated Powell to serve a second term as the Fed chairman.
Federal Reserve tapering help curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
QE (quantitative easing) is one action by the Fed that's meant to curb the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve has been buying long-term securities from member banks at a rate of about $120 billion per month since mid-2020 in order to inject money into the U.S. economy.
The agency has already started the process of tapering or cutting back on its bond purchases until the program is effectively ended by the middle of 2022. Last week, it was reported that several top Federal Reserve officials are in favor of faster tapering than previously anticipated. They will address that option at the December 14–15 meeting.