Fed staff suggest more worry over financial risk than Powell

Bloomberg reports that Fed staff members gave a potentially more worrisome assessment of the risks to financial stability in the central bank’s policy meeting last month than the one presented publicly by Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell called financial stability vulnerabilities overall “moderate.” Central bank staff gave a less sanguine assessment in their presentation at the January meeting, telling policy makers that vulnerabilities on balance were “notable,” according to the minutes of the gathering released on Wednesday.

The Fed’s appraisal of financial stability risks is important because it can play a role in determining the central bank’s stance on monetary policy and its approach to financial regulation. If policy makers consider the weaknesses of the financial system to be elevated, they can tighten rules governing banks or even raise borrowing costs to try to rein in any excesses they see.

Fed officials showed no sign at last month’s meeting of wanting to pull back anytime soon on their support for the pandemic-stricken economy and financial markets. They expected it would be “some time” before conditions were met to scale back their massive bond buying, according to the meeting’s minutes.