WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Friday it will establish a community advisory council of 15 citizens to meet regularly with central bank officials for a broad conversation on the state of the economy.

In a statement, the Fed said the panel will have "a particular focus on the concerns of low- and moderate-income populations." A process for selecting members will be announced later, and the Fed said it hopes the first of the group's semiannual meetings will be held late this year.

Until 2011 the Fed had a consumer advisory council that discussed consumer regulatory issues, but that was ended after the Dodd-Frank reforms put responsibility for consumer financial protection under a new agency. (Reporting by Howard Schneider and Michael Flaherty)