The Marriner Stoddard Eccles Legacy
In honoring the legacy of Marriner S. Eccles – banker, businessman, entrepreneur and national economic leader – the new institute bears the name of an individual who stands historically among the most respected and admired citizens of the State of Utah and the nation. As chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1934 to 1948, Eccles’ role as a close advisor to U.S. Presidents Roosevelt and Truman places him among a handful of individuals who have most influenced the business and economic life of this nation.
Today, the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C. bears the name of Marriner S. Eccles and the foyer displays a statue in his honor. He is also one of just four Utahns recognized by a statue on Utah State Capitol’s North Plaza. His contributions to the strength of the U.S. economy and his role furthering the free market system continue to be widely recognized both nationally and internationally.
Born in 1890 in Logan, Utah, Marriner was the eldest son of pioneering Utah industrialist David Eccles, namesake of the University’s business school. He led the creation of First Security Corporation, the nation’s first multi-state operating bank holding company, and his deft handling of its finances through the 1929 stock market crash brought him to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who tapped him to steward the nation’s financial resources through the Great Depression.
In doing so, he rose to prominence as the “Father of the modern Federal Reserve,” crafting U.S. monetary policy and keystones of the nation’s financial systems that remain today. These include not only a reformed Federal Reserve System, but also creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Housing Act (FHA), the Banking Act of 1935 and the 1951 Treasury-Fed Accord, which assured the Federal Reserve’s independence.
“…The only true satisfaction is to feel that we have contributed in some way, however small, to the well being of others … We are here to enrich the world. And insofar as we lose sight of that fact, we impoverish ourselves.”
~ Marriner S. Eccles