this service by transferring check - processing operations from some offices to more centralized locations. today, twenty - two offices offer check processing, down from forty - five just three years ago. before check 21, a bank had to present the original paper check to the paying bank unless the paying bank had agreed to accept electronic presentment of the check. although check 21 did not mandate the electronic processing or presentment of checks, it did authorize a new negotiable instrument, called a substitute check, which is the legal equivalent of the original check. by permitting banks to use substitute checks in the check - collection process when the recipient could not or would not accept electronic payment, check 21 has facilitated the expanded use of electronic technologies in check processing, enabling the banking industry and the federal reserve to improve the efficiency and cost - effectiveness of its checkprocessing operations. other reserve bank services have been undergoing consolidation as well. at some branches, cash processing by the federal reserve has been replaced by a cash depot operated under contract by armored carriers, who collect currency deposits from and distribute currency to depository institutions. the federal reserve system has also consolidated certain other services for banks and the u. s. treasury, such as automated clearinghouse ( ach ), offline fedwire, and savings bond services. similar trends are occurring in other areas of reserve bank operations. the reserve banks have found it more efficient to have a few central offices perform certain internal support and back - office services - such as managing information technology and payroll - rather than having each bank conduct them individually. this trend toward consolidation of operations has precipitated significant structural changes at the reserve banks. staff levels have been reduced throughout the system. several reserve bank branch offices now have, or soon will have, no remaining financial services operations. these branches focus on matters such as community affairs, economic information gathering, economic and financial education, and director recruitment. some branches have sold their own buildings and operate in leased space. in addition to affecting operations, the centralization of some reserve bank functions has raised issues related to the governance of the reserve banks in accordance with the provisions of the federal reserve act. as mentioned earlier, congress provided that each reserve bank is controlled by its own board of directors and president, subject to the general oversight and approval authority assigned to the board of governors by the federal reserve act. under the act, the directors are required to perform the duties " usually appertaining to the office of directors of banking associations

monetary policy report presentation before the finance commission of the honorable senate of the republic mario marcel governor central bank of chile 1 april 2019 the monetary policy report of march 2019 can be found at http : / / www. bcentral. cl. i. introduction mister president of the senate ’ s finance commission, senator ricardo lagos - weber, senators members of this commission, ladies, gentlemen, i am grateful for your invitation to present the vision of the board of the central bank of chile on recent macroeconomic developments, their prospects and the implications for monetary policy. this vision is contained in detail in the monetary policy report ( ipom ) of march 2019, released this morning. these antecedents provide the background for the decision adopted by the board at the monetary policy meeting last friday. at that meeting, we decided unanimously to keep the monetary policy rate ( mpr ) at 3 %. at the same time, we noted that, in line with the lower level of inflation and its outlook, it would be necessary to maintain the monetary stimulus for a longer period, taking a break in the process of mpr normalization that began last october. to the extent that the economy continues on the foreseen path, this process should be resumed in the medium term to ensure the convergence of inflation within the policy horizon. this decision is coherent with the analysis and baseline projection scenario that i will share with you now. in particular, it considers that the economy posted healthy growth in 2018, driven by investment, an impulse that is expected to continue in 2019. externally, growth in the main economies has shown a sharper - thanexpected deceleration, which has led its authorities to implement further economic stimulus packages. the main difference with respect to december ’ s baseline scenario was seen in local inflation. measured by the benchmark consumer price index ( cpi ) calculated by the national statistics institute ( ine ) based on the updated basket and new methodology, annual cpi variation is significantly below the forecast. this differential between forecast and actual inflation occurs in a context where activity and demand have behaved as expected, which in this report is explained by a lower - than - expected peso depreciation pass - through, favorable supply factors in some markets and greater capacity gaps than had been estimated until now. said gaps do not originate in weaker demand, but in the labor force effects of massive immigration to the country, an issue that the bank has brought up in its presentations to this commissions for some quarters now. in this