The following letter was sent by the Federal Reserve to the Senate Banking Committee on the central bank’s role in bank supervision.
Dear Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member Shelby:
Strengthening our financial regulatory system in ways that take the appropriate lessons from the crisis is essential for the long-term economic stability of our country.
To this end, as you know, the Banking Committee has compiled an extensive hearing record and has begun considering specific reform proposals.
A number of your colleagues on the Committee have recently asked for the Board’s views on the importance of the Federal Reserve’s continued role in bank supervision and regulation. In response to these requests, I am enclosing for you and your colleagues a document that discusses (1) how the expertise and information that the Federal Reserve develops in the making of monetary policy enable it to make a unique contribution to an effective regulatory regime, especially in the context of a more systemic approach to consolidated oversight; and (2) how active involvement in supervising the nation’s banking system allows the Federal Reserve to better perform its critical functions as a central bank.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance. I look forward to working with you in the days ahead as the Committee continues its consideration of regulatory reform proposals.
Sincerely,
Ben S. Bernanke
Read the rest of the letter for the Fed’s full argument