Jerome Powell

The GSEs became powerful advocates for their own bottom lines, providing substantial financial support for political candidates who supported the GSE agenda.

We need a resilient, well-capitalized, well-regulated financial system that is strong enough to withstand even severe shocks and support economic growth by lending through the economic cycle.

The financial crisis revealed important weaknesses in many areas of our financial system.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the debate about monetary policy and the nation's financial system had been going on for over a century. Increasingly, the shortcomings of the existing system were causing too much harm to ignore.

Long-term economic growth depends mainly on nonmonetary factors such as population growth and workforce participation, the skills and aptitudes of our workforce, the tools at their disposal, and the pace of technological advance. Fiscal and regulatory policies can have important effects on these factors.

In a world of global trade and integrated capital markets, it is natural for economic and financial shocks and policy actions to be transmitted across borders.

Businesses and households react to lower rates by investing and spending more. Lower rates also support the prices of housing and financial assets such as stocks and bonds.

To ensure financial stability, we expect the provision of U.S. government securities settlement services to be robust in nearly all contingencies.

Real short- and long-term rates were relatively high in the late-1990s, so financial excess can also arise without a low-rate environment.

The main long-run contribution monetary policy can make is to provide a stable macroeconomic and financial environment.

The Fed's organization reflects a long-standing desire in American history to ensure that power over our nation's monetary policy and financial system is not concentrated in a few hands, whether in Washington or in high finance or in any single group or constituency.

The banking industry has traditionally been characterized by physical branches, privileged access to financial data, and distinct expertise in analyzing such data.