Financial History Issue 118 (Summer 2016) | Page 21

a San Francisco banker and lawyer. As was the case for its predecessor, the CIC created by the WFC Act established committees in each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts. The members of district committees consisted of a Federal Reserve agent, the governor of the Federal Reserve bank in each district and three or more private bankers chosen for reason of special qualifications that would assist in the CIC review process. Among the Fed bank governors serving on the district committees was Benjamin Strong. He was the powerful governor of the New York Fed and a renowned international banking figure who would play a leading role in the events that led to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The WFC Act authorized the CIC to review all securities offerings in excess of $100,000. The Federal Reserve district committees conducted the initial review of applications for n