Jacobson elected to serve on Federal Reserve Board

Gerald “Jerry” Jacobson, president of Northwestern Bank in Chippewa Falls, was elected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ Board of Directors. He was appointed by the member banks as a Class A (banker) director and will serve a three-year term.

“I’m very honored and very pleased to be able to get on this board,” said Jacobson, “and to be able to give some of my input, especially on small businesses. That’s really what I’m looking forward to.”

Jacobson joined Northwestern Bank in 1978, as an auditor. Prior to becoming president of Northwestern Bank, Jacobson served as chief operating officer. He is succeeding Class A director Tom Armstrong, senior vice president and market president of Forward Bank in Park Falls, with the term to begin Jan. 1, 2021.

The Class A group of directors is elected to the board of directors by member banks and are selected to represent a cross section of the Ninth District economy, including consumers, industry, agriculture, the service sector, labor and commercial banks of various sizes. Pursuant to the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Board has nine members, with three Class A directors representing the member banks, and three each of Class B and C directors.

Responsibilities of directors are broad, ranging from overseeing the general operations of the reserve, to reporting on district economic conditions. This information helps prepare the board’s president for participation in Federal Open Market Committee meetings, where decisions are made about monetary policy.

Jacobson hopes to lend his voice to decisions that will impact not only small businesses in the Chippewa Valley, but also community residents, in a positive way.

“Hopefully, we’ll get that through to Washington, D.C., what the real world here in rural Wisconsin is,” said Jacobson.