Saying that the nation’s financial system is far stronger and more resilient than a decade ago, with banks holding “much higher” levels of capital and liquid assets, and more aware of and better able to manage risks, nominee for Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome H. Powell will tell the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday he will support the economy’s continued progress toward full recovery.
Powell’s comments were previewed in a release issued by the Federal Reserve Monday. The nominee will testify in his confirmation hearing before the committee at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
“As a regulator and supervisor of banking institutions, in collaboration with other federal and state agencies, we must help ensure that our financial system remains both stable and efficient,” Powell’s statement reads. “
“Our financial system is without doubt far stronger and more resilient than it was a decade ago,” he said. “Our banks have much higher levels of capital and liquid assets, are more aware of the risks they run, and are better able to manage those risks. Even as we have worked to implement improvements, we also have sought to tailor regulation and supervision to the size and risk profile of banks, particularly community institutions.”
Powell said that, under his guidance if confirmed, the Fed will continue to consider appropriate ways to ease regulatory burdens while preserving core reforms — strong levels of capital and liquidity, stress testing, and resolution planning —“so that banks can provide the credit to families and businesses necessary to sustain a prosperous economy. In doing so, we must be clear and transparent about the principles that are driving our decisions and about the expectations we have for the institutions we regulate.”