Former official helped improve Fed banking

WASHINGTON — Edward Kelley, who served 14 years as a member of the Federal Reserve Board and was instrumental in modernizing the banking operations of the Federal Reserve system, has died. He was 84.

His death at a Washington hospital was confirmed Monday by the Fed. Kelley had suffered a stroke two weeks ago.

For many years Kelley ran a Houston manufacturing and services company. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the seven-member Fed board in 1987. He was reappointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

During much of his tenure on the board, Kelley chaired the committee that oversaw the operations and payment systems of the Fed’s 12 regional banks. In that role, he led efforts to modernize the Fed’s computer systems and prepare for a smooth transition during the century date change in January 2000.

In October 2005, the Houston branch building of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas was named in his honor.

Speaking at the dedication ceremony, then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan called Kelley “my friend, confident and golf partner.” He said Kelley’s work to get the Fed system prepared for the Y-2K computer change greatly contributed to the success the Fed had in operating in crisis mode after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Greenspan said Kelley was also instrumental in increasing the efficiency of Fed operations by modernizing the way its regional banks coordinated the handling of services to commercial banks.