Barkin: Operating with Limited Data

I am pleased to be here today to discuss a core part of the Federal Reserve's mission: banking supervision.1 Much of what the Fed does to conduct monetary policy, promote a stable financial system, provide a safe and efficient payments system, and support consumers and community development depends on a healthy banking system. Lending fuels entrepreneurship, helps families buy homes, and enables communities to thrive—all critical aspects of a healthy economy. Ensuring banks operate in a safe and sound manner is essential because the banking system sits at the center of the economy. That is why banks' risk-taking must always be guided by clear guardrails, underpinned by effective banking supervision. We need these guardrails because experience shows that market discipline alone does not prevent excessive risk-taking by banks.2 As I've noted before, time and again, periods of relative financial calm have led to efforts to weaken regulation and supervision.3 This has often had dire consequences, as we saw prominently during the Global Financial Crisis. In the midst of that crisis, I saw first-hand in my own community in Michigan what weak regulation and supervision could mean: foreclosed homes, shuttered businesses, and lost jobs. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Michigan's unemployment rate was 14.9 percent in 2009, meaning one in seven workers were out of jobs.4 Nationwide, the consequences were immense: nearly 9 million jobs lost, 8 million homes foreclosed upon, and a $17 trillion loss in household wealth.5 We are now, I believe, at a moment of inflection in the regulatory and supervisory approaches that help keep banks healthy. There are growing pressures to weaken supervision—to scale back examiner coverage, to dilute ratings systems, and to redefine "unsafe and unsound"—in ways that will make it harder for examiners to act before it is too late to prevent a build-up of excessive risk. These pressures present real dangers to the American people. The Mission of Banking Supervision Let me begin with the mission of bank supervision, which is to promote a safe, sound, and efficient banking system that supports a strong economy.6 Our banking system relies on trust. That trust is earned when banks behave responsibly and when supervisors effectively perform their statutory duties. These duties include verifying that banks are operating soundly and identifying and addressing weaknesses before they threaten the solvency of particular Fed's Barr: Bank supervision relies on credible ratings and strong staff. Fed's Barr: Moves to weaken bank supervision present real dangers.

*BARKIN: AGREE WITH POWELL DEC. RATE CUT NOT FOREGONE CONCLUSION