John C Williams: 100 years at 33 Liberty Street
Remarks by Mr John C Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, at the New York Fed Alumni "Celebrating 100 Years of
Making Our Mission Possible", Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, 15
November 2024.
* * *
As prepared for delivery
Introduction
Welcome back!
It's wonderful to see so many of our alumni joining us today as we celebrate the 110th
anniversary of the New York Fed-and the centennial of our Liberty Street home.
Buildings tell stories. And this unique building-made of sandstone and limestone, with
vaulted ceilings and a gold vault in the basement-has much to say about where we've
been, where we are, and where we're going.
It stood as a beacon of strength during crises: Black Thursday, Black Monday, 9/11, the
Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. And it's witnessed remarkable
change-in the global economy and financial markets, in technology and the ways we
work, and, as you see in the photos, in hair styles and office attire.
But just as 33 Liberty Street kept its distinctive stone exterior as glass skyscrapers grew
around it, our dedication to the mission of serving the American public has remained
constant.
And throughout our history, our ability to be at the forefront of anticipating, adapting,
and acting in a fast-changing world has helped us ensure the strength of the U.S.
economy and the stability of the global financial system.
Each of you has played a critical role in this journey. And today, we're excited to share
a little bit about what we're doing to prepare for the future.
You'll hear about our plans for the new Cash Services Center and the ways technology
is transforming our work-including how we are using artificial intelligence. We'll also
discuss the work we do with communities within the Second District, as well as how we
are adapting to a changing workplace, including increased flexibility in where and how
we do our work.
Before we break into sessions that will delve deeper into these topics, I'll provide some
of the backstory. And since we are celebrating our building's centennial, I'll use 33
Liberty Street as the backdrop.
But first, as you all know, I must give the standard Fed disclaimer that the views I
express today are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Open
Market Committee (FOMC) or others in the Federal Reserve System.
Paper and Pages
When you look at photographs from the past, what's most striking is how technology
has altered how we do our work. This is true throughout the history of the New York
Fed.
The early days were defined by paper. Lots of paper. Paper cards, paper tape, stacks
of paper on desks, folders of paper in file cabinets. We communicated by paper, gave
authorizations on paper, and recorded transactions on paper. Pages hurried down the
halls, delivering important papers to people across the Bank.
And of course, there were landline telephones-those box-like devices with buttons, curly
cords, and handles that you would hold up to your ear. Now they sit at the corner of our
desks, gathering dust. In fact, with the advent of more integrated communications
technology, we will soon dispense with desktop phones altogether.
We still are tied to our phones, but not by cords. Many of you remember your
BlackBerry-some with fondness, others, well maybe not so much. Now, we are all
connected 24/7/365.
Some of you may have even started your New York Fed careers working on huge,
boxlike computers. Although these technologies often look antiquated today, they were
state of the art at the time.
Thankfully, computers have gotten smaller and lighter, wireless networks have made
them portable, and data and processing are moving to the cloud.
There was also a time when our cash business was based in this building, with
currency verification on the third floor. Employees would flip through bills like casino
dealers dealing cards, eyeballing money to spot counterfeits. Later, we turned to using
jewelers' microscopes. Now, the microscopes have mostly been replaced by very
hightech sensors.
Our cash operations business expanded so much that in 1992, we moved it to EROC,
our East Rutherford Operations Center.
EROC was also one of many places in the Second District that processed checks. This
is another business that has changed radically. At its peak in 2001, EROC alone
processed an average of over three million checks per day.
But by 2006, check usage had declined dramatically, and EROC stopped processing
them altogether. EROC is now solely focused on the storage, distribution, and
processing of U.S. currency and coin-not just for the Second District, but internationally
as well.
The Best of Who We Are
Bringing the story to more recent times, the pandemic shutdowns and their aftermath
meant the New York Fed once again was called on to play its pivotal part in helping to
stabilize the economy and financial markets. Historians will long write about events of
the past five years and the role the New York Fed played.
As an institution, we moved quickly and decisively. We carried out record amounts of
open market operations. And we set up and operated emergency facilities that, in short
order, restored calm and stability to financial markets disrupted by the onset of the
pandemic. My favorite quote from this time is from a colleague who said that she never
imagined doing the best work of her career in pajamas and flipflops.
Left unwritten is that our people were also caring for children and ensuring their elderly
parents were safe. Some lost loved ones. We lost loved ones. And while many of us
worked from home, our essential on-site workers came to the office every day.
I will always remember how we supported each other while we worked tirelessly to
carry out our mission.
The crisis brought out the best of who we are. And it forever changed the ways we
work. It wasn't just about going virtual. Technology helped foster greater
collaborationwithin teams, among groups, and across the System.
We discovered that video calls can be more personal than phone calls. Brainstorming,
once done sitting around a white board, can now be performed in shared documents
from different locations. And processes are becoming automated and less fragmented.
All of this has empowered our people to apply their diverse perspectives and unique
talents in new ways. It's one of the many reasons we are committed to making the most
of the hybrid work model-what we call our flexible work evolution.
And once futuristic technologies are now part of our present. Our robots (or automated
guided vehicles)-with cool names like Johnny 5, Megahertz, and Super Bad
Decepticonhelp us process up to $700 million of cash each day.
Innovating and Driving Progress
Technology has made our work easier, but it's our people who are innovating and
driving progress.
Our culture is shifting. We're using Agile methods to innovate and experiment. To try
new things and not be afraid to fail. To learn from failure and try again. This mindset of
experimentation is already paying dividends.
For example, our Data & Statistics team is using generative AI and developing
prototypes to analyze data, spot anomalies, and suggest follow-ups. These efforts will
provide deeper insights and save analysts' time. Of course, this is in an exploratory
stage. But the opportunities feel endless.
We are also collaborating with our peers from around the world through the New York
Innovation Center, which is studying the potential of new technologies in central
banking.
And we are modernizing technologies in some of our most critical responsibilities in
supplying currency and implementing monetary policy.
Plans are now underway to create a next-generation Cash Services Center that
eventually will replace EROC.
And earlier this week, our Markets Group announced the development of FedTrade
Plus, an innovative new trading platform for open market operations and the account
services we provide to other central banks. This is a critical system that is core to what
we do at the Fed: Annually, we carry out nearly 900 operations and process around $32
trillion-that's trillion with a "T."
Going back to our history, auction bids have been submitted in person, by mail, by
phone, and electronically-with every innovation seeming like a giant step forward. This
new platform will allow us to analyze the performance of open market operations in real
time, and it will substantially simplify the user experience.
Our Greatest Strength
Change has defined our century at 33 Liberty Street. We have reinvented ourselves
many times, and we can only imagine how our work will evolve over the next 100 years.
But the story of 33 Liberty Street is very much about its people. Our people-people like
you-have been, and always will be, our greatest strength.
Our mission is what brings us together. We are here to serve our communities, to
support the strength of the U.S. economy and global financial system, and to do so in
an environment where we innovate, learn, and move forward together with agility.
So today is a day to celebrate our building's centennial-and the people who make us
who we are.