Fed Chair Powell Delivers Remarks As DOJ Probes Renovations To Federal Reserve Building

Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivered remarks on Tuesday at a conference on regulatory capital rules.

Transcript

00:00I'm here to deliver the four-minute warning. Not really. Let's get started.

00:08Good morning to everyone and welcome to the Federal Reserve Board. I'm very

00:12pleased, though not surprised, to see such great interest in the topic of

00:16today's conference, the integrated review of the capital framework for large banks.

00:21And I want to thank Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman for having the great

00:25idea of holding this event at the outset of her term. I'd also like to thank Fed

00:31staff for their tireless work in putting the conference together. So today we'll

00:36hear the perspectives of industry veterans, academics, and current and

00:40former policymakers who are all well-versed in the operations of large

00:44banks and the main pillars of the capital framework. A great benefit of this

00:49conference is the chance to consider all elements of the capital framework in

00:53concert rather than look at each in isolation. We need to ensure that all the

00:58different pieces of the capital framework work together effectively. Doing so will

01:03help maintain a safe, sound, and efficient banking system for the benefit of the

01:08people we serve. The U.S. bank capital framework includes risk-based capital

01:13requirements, leverage requirements, the surcharge for the largest and most complex

01:17banks, and the stress tests. We will discuss the status of each of those elements

01:22and the road ahead in a comprehensive manner today. As this audience will know

01:27well, we have proposals outstanding or in the works across all four areas. Our

01:33regulatory capital framework and all banking rules are implemented through

01:37supervision, an area where Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman brings deep

01:41experience as a former banker and state supervisor. As she has noted, we need to

01:46make sure that our supervisory practices focus on the critical areas that determine

01:51safety and soundness. We need our large banks to be well capitalized and to manage

01:56their key risks well. And we need large banks to be free to compete with one

02:01another, with non-bank financial institutions and with banks in other

02:05jurisdictions to provide capital and support economic growth. The Fed is a dynamic

02:12institution. We're open to hearing new ideas and feedback on how to improve the

02:16capital framework for large banks. And I look forward to hearing from today's

02:20participants. Thanks again to all of you for joining us today. Thank you.