On the Fed board

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jan 05, 1999

La Crosse developer Jay F. Hoeschler has begun a three-year term on the nine-member board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, one of 12 regional Reserve banks that serve as the nation's central bank.

Hoeschler was elected by member banks in November, and his term began Jan. 1. Directors' responsibilities range from overseeing general operations of the Reserve bank to reporting on district economic conditions. That information helps prepare the Reserve bank president to participate in meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, which makes decisions about monetary policy.

Hoeschler, 45, is president and owner of Hoeschler Corp., which is mainly involved in real estate development, and is president and co-owner of Gerrard-Hoeschler Realtors Inc.

"It's my hope that I can bring the economic realities of this region to the board so they can understand how its monetary policy affects our economic development," Hoeschler said. Interest rates affect how effectively a business can attract and train workers, as well as the strength of local businesses and the region's economy, he said.

"(Hoeschler's election) gives us a local voice that we can go to," said Dirk Gasterland, president and chief executive officer of the Coulee State Bank, and president of the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

"(His election) is a great honor for him," said Gasterland, who remembers two other Coulee Region residents serving on the board. They were Duane Ring Sr., retired president of Norwest Bank of La Crosse, and the late John Bosshard, a prominent attorney from Bangor.

"Jay Hoeschler will make an excellent director on the Federal Reserve," said Bosshard's son, Bill Bosshard of La Crosse, who is president of the First National Bank of Bangor, Bank of Alma, and Farmers State Bank of Hillsboro.

Bosshard said that as president of Group 1, an association of about person committee that nominated Hoeschler. He suggested Hoeschler's name.

Bosshard said Hoeschler knows how the Federal Reserve's decisions affect the vitality of local economies, and has the pulse of the Wisconsin economy.

As one of 12 regional Reserve banks, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for making and carrying out monetary policy, supervising and regulating banks and bank holding companies, and providing financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. Treasury.

Together with its branch in Helena, Mont., the Minneapolis Fed serves the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, 26 counties in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.