Jerome H Powell: Opening remarks - 2024 US Treasury Market
Conference
Opening remarks (via prerecorded video) by Mr Jerome H Powell, Chair of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the 10th Annual US Treasury Market
Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, 26 September 2024.
* * *
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the 10th Annual U.S. Treasury Market Conference.
"Tenth annual" is a phrase that generates a bit of surprise, and much pride. It is
surprising because it does not seem like the first of these gatherings, which I was
honored to play a role in organizing, was all that long ago. But we can also take pride
because the conference has proven useful and important for a full decade, as I expect it
will do for many more years to come.
Much has changed in the economy since we first gathered in 2015-but the importance
of the U.S. Treasury market has not. As you all know, this market is the deepest and
most liquid in the world. In addition to meeting the financing needs of the federal
government, it plays a critical role in the implementation of monetary policy. It is no
exaggeration to say that the Treasury market is part of the bedrock of our economy and
indeed of the world economy.
The October '14 flash crash and the subsequent publication of the Interagency Working
Group report on that event are what brought us together for the first annual conference.1
October 2014 was a wakeup call because there had never been such a large swing in
Treasury prices in such a short period of time. The Interagency Working Group report
shed light on how much the structure of the Treasury market had changed and how
large a role high-speed, electronic trading firms were playing in it. It also showed the
value of cooperation and communication between the five agencies in the working
group, something that proved again to be vital during the disruptions caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
I am pleased to see that all working group members are represented here today. You
will be hearing directly from many senior leaders, including your host, President
Williams; Vice Chair Barr; and Secretary Yellen, who, of course, was Fed chair at the
time of the first conference.
It is essential that our Treasury markets are able to efficiently transform Treasury
securities into cash, even at times of elevated stress. As I noted at this event in 2015,
"these markets need to keep functioning at a high level, and we all have a stake in
making sure that they do." I remain wholly dedicated to that goal.2
I wish you a productive and educational conference. Thank you.
1
Joint Staff Report:
See Interagency Working Group on Treasury Market Surveillance,
The U.S. Treasury Market on October 15, 2014 (PDF)(Washington: Interagency
Working Group, July 2015).
See Jerome H. Powell, "Opening Remarks" (speech at the 2015 Roundtable on
Treasury Markets and Debt Management: Evolution of Treasury Market and Its
Implications, New York, NY, November 20, 2015).
i. Note: On September 26, 2024, the text of the speech was updated to reflect the
delivered remarks in the video version of this speech.