Powell Excerpt: Trump, Capital Buffer

     WASHINGTON (MN) - The following is a response of Federal Reserve Chairman

Jerome Powell to a question from a reporter at his press conference following

Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Question: Hi, Mr. Chairman.  I wanted to ask, first of all, whether you are

worried that President Trump's tweeting and statements might interfere with your

ability to communicate with markets and why you are doing what you are doing.

And then also I was wondering if you could comment on governor Brainerd gave a

speech where the countercyclical buffer be activated.  Do you agree with her

analysis and do you think that's something the Fed should look at?

     Powell:  I'm not worried on the first question, because I know -- and

everyone who works at the Fed, knows that we will do our jobs the way we always

have done them and that involves getting the best thinking together, diverse

perspectives.  Every business, every FOMC cycle, we talk to funds of people in

all different parts of society.  Not just business people or market people, but

people from community development organizations.

     We get survey data from thousands of people and so we really do have a

pretty broad exposure to what's going on in all different parts of the country. 

And we are going to take all of that information in and we will make the best

decisions we can and nothing will cause us to deviate from that.

     In terms of the CCYB, so the CCYB is a countercyclical buffer, it allows us

to build capital at a time when vulnerability -- financial stability

vulnerabilities are meaningfully above normal.  That's a tool I would be

absolutely willing to use, and happy to use at such time as that test is met. 

We meet and discuss that and evaluate it on a -- roughly an annual basis.  We

haven't done it since early this year.  I think we will be doing it early.

     In year and we will be reaching that judgment then.  I will tell you I

recently gave a speech that I said I believe financial stability vulnerabilities

were roughly at a moderate level but I would want to leave open -- my mind open

on that and have that discussion with my Board colleagues when the issue arises.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 (973) 494-2611; email: harrison.clarke@marketnews.com

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