Paul P. Mello Joins New York Fed Board of Directors

NEW YORK, March 30 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the following news release:

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that Paul P. Mello, president and chief executive officer of Solvay Bank, has been appointed a Class A director of the New York Fed starting March 28, 2012, for a three-year term ending December 2014.

Mr. Mello is president and chief executive officer of Solvay Bank in Syracuse, New York, in Onondaga County.

He was appointed to that position in 2002. Prior to his appointment, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer. He also launched the Bank's insurance subsidiary, Solvay Bank Insurance Agency, Inc., and began the Bank's Brokerage Advisory Services.

Before joining the Bank, Mr. Mello worked for Coopers & Lybrand in Syracuse from 1989 to 1993.

Mr. Mello is chair of the Independent Bankers Association of New York State and Upstate Medical University Foundation. He was a member of the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He serves on the board of directors for The Eraser Company, Inc., the St. Camillus Health & Rehabilitation Center, and the LeMoyne College Board of Regents and Accounting Advisory Committee.

Mr. Mello is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Mello holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from LeMoyne College and is a CPA.

About the Reserve Banks' Boards of Directors

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 requires each of the Reserve Banks to operate under the supervision of a board of directors. Each Reserve Bank has nine directors who represent the interests of their Reserve District and whose experience provides the Reserve Banks with a wider range of expertise that helps them fulfill their policy and operational responsibilities. The nine directors of each Reserve Bank are divided evenly by classification: Class A directors represent the member banks in the District; Class B directors and Class C directors represent the interests of the public. The directors of the Reserve Banks act as an important link between the Federal Reserve and the private sector, ensuring that the Fed's decisions on monetary policy are informed by actual economic conditions.

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