What is the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)? What about the Open Market Desk?

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is a committee formed by twelve members and a branch in charge of determining the monetary policy direction. FOMC achieves this goal through directing and imposing guidelines in the OMO (Open Market Operations). The twelve members of this committee include a combination of the Fed Bank's presidents (five) and the board of governors (seven members).

The Open Market Desk refers to the system in charge of managing the Open Market Operations with the help and supervision of the FOMC. The Open Market Desk performs its activities with guidelines and policies formed and issued by the Federal Open Market Committee.