Federal Reserve System
US real-estate concern goes global
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Guy Debelle says US commercial real estate woes may impose further crippling losses on banks
Mooted Fed policy shift presents dangers
Changing its operating target to the interest on reserves tool could be the best available fix for the Federal Reserve as it implements its exit strategy. But it is a process that poses risks
Community banks remain crucial for US economy
Chicago Federal Reserve summarises its conference on the impact of the financial crisis on community banks
Fed mulling switch to new policy rate
Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke says officials mooting the use of interest on reserves as benchmark target
Fed’s Kohn: don’t underestimate interest-rate risk
Federal Reserve’s Don Kohn says it is crucial interest-rate risk does not undermine the safety and soundness of the most important lenders
Ex-NY Fed chief opposes Volcker rule
Former New York Fed head Jerry Corrigan, now at Goldman Sachs, plays down impact of banks’ activities; warns against regulatory arbitrage
Fed’s independence in public’s interest: Bernanke
Ben Bernake says the Federal Reserve will work with Congress to ensure maximum transparency
US can go it alone on reforms: Volcker
Former Fed chairman Paul Volcker says international consensus on reform not necessary
Fed is best in crisis, says British think-tank
The Federal Reserve’s credit easing operations have fostered a quicker recovery than in the UK and eurozone, research finds
Fed could have done more: CEPR paper
A paper reviewing the Fed’s policy actions in the crisis finds that it could have pushed further, according to economic theory
Rate decisions this week
Majority of central banks to vote this week hold rates constant though dissent voiced in the US and South Africa; Philippines and India tighten, Hungary loosens
Senate backs Bernanke for second term
Lawmakers vote 70 to 30 in favour
Frank says Fed presidents shouldn’t vote on policy
Head of House Financial Services Committee labels heads of regional Federal Reserves “private citizens selected by other private citizens”
Kansas’s Hoenig dissents at FOMC meeting
Kansas Fed president Thomas Hoenig votes against action to keep promise of extremely accommodative policy
Keep the Fed away from politics: Dallas’s Fisher
Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher says allowing Congress to audit the Fed would be comparable to the governance crises of Weimar Germany and pre-Péron Argentina
Ex-governors and prominent academics in new forum
Former Argentine central bank governor Mario Blejer, former Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke and a slew of prominent academics will participate in a new forum
Obama's reforms find few friends
Markets and commentators reject the US president’s proposed reform of banks, which would see a ban imposed on proprietary trading
NY Fed names new minder for AIG portfolio
Federal Reserve Bank of New York's new special investments management group will oversee its American International Group (AIG) and Maiden Lane III portfolios
Fed’s Dudley shoots down “audit” bill
William Dudley, president of the New York Fed, dismisses calls for greater scrutiny as threat to independence in policymaking
Fed retort: nothing to hide on AIG
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, invites the government to audit the central bank’s dealings with AIG; NY Fed submits 250,000 pages of evidence to Congress
Two challenges for policy in the near future
Donald Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, set out his views on the Fed’s exit and the potential to include asset prices and financial stability questions in monetary policy.
Fed’s Duke is optimistic for 2010
Elizabeth Duke, a governor of the Federal Reserve Board, says she is optimistic that the volume of bank loans will increase this year
Rethinking risk aversion in asset-price models
San Francisco Fed shows measuring household risk aversion correctly is crucial for understanding asset prices
Accurate inflation forecast crucial for exit plan
St Louis Fed looks at challenges in designing effective exit policy