Federal Reserve

At their meeting in Basel this weekend, the central bank Governors of the Global Economy Meeting (GEM) 1 appointed William C Dudley as chairman of the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS). Mr Dudley is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and has been the Chairman of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) since May 2009.

Five federal agencies have approved and will submit a Federal Register notice that extends the comment period on a proposed rule to establish margin and capital requirements for swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The comment period was extended to July 11, 2011, to allow interested persons more time to analyze the issues and prepare their comments. Originally, comments were due by June 24, 2011.

The financial reform legislation approved by the Congress today represents a welcome and far-reaching step toward preventing a replay of the recent financial crisis. It strengthens the consolidated supervision of systemically important financial institutions, gives the government an important additional tool to safely wind down failing financial firms, creates an interagency council to detect and deter emerging threats to the financial system, and enhances the transparency of the Federal Reserve while preserving the political independence that is crucial to monetary policymaking.

Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

Chairman Frank, Ranking Member Bachus, and other members of the Committee, I am pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the Federal Reserve's role in bank supervision and the actions that we are taking to strengthen our supervisory oversight.

Before the Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

Chairman Bayh, Ranking Member Corker, and other members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I also want to thank all of you for taking the time to explore a subject that is easily overlooked in the public debate around financial reform, but that will be central to ensuring a more stable financial system in the future.

The Federal Reserve Thursday released an advisory reminding depository institutions of supervisory expectations for sound practices in managing interest rate risk. This advisory, adopted along with the other financial regulators, reiterates the importance of effective corporate governance, policies and procedures, risk measuring and monitoring systems, stress testing, and internal controls related to the interest rate risk exposures of depository institutions.

Chairman Dodd, Senator Shelby, and members of the Committee, I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would also like to express my gratitude to President Obama for nominating me to a second term as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and for his support for a strong and independent Federal Reserve. Finally, I thank my colleagues throughout the Federal Reserve System for the remarkable resourcefulness, dedication, and stamina they have demonstrated over the past two years under extremely trying conditions.

Speech by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
At the Economic Club of New York, New York, New York

On the Outlook for the Economy and Policy

When I last spoke at the Economic Club of New York a little more than a year ago, the financial crisis had just taken a much more virulent turn. In my remarks at that time, I described the extraordinary actions that policymakers around the globe were taking to address the crisis, and I expressed optimism that we had the tools necessary to stabilize the system.

The Senior Supervisors Group (SSG) that comprises senior financial supervisors from seven countries (United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom) today issued a report that evaluates how weaknesses in risk management and internal controls contributed to industry distress during the financial crisis.

The report — Risk Management Lessons from the Global Banking

The President's Working Group on Financial Markets today announced a series of initiatives to strengthen oversight and the infrastructure of the over-the-counter derivatives market.