janet l yellen : commencement remarks speech by ms janet l yellen, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at new york university ’ s 2014 commencement, new york city, 21 may 2014. * * * thank you, president sexton. on behalf of the honorees, let me express my thanks to nyu. and congratulations from all of us to you, the class of 2014, and to your families, especially your parents. this is a special day to celebrate your achievements and to look forward to your lives ahead. your nyu education has not only provided you with a foundation of knowledge ; it has also, i hope, instilled in you a love of knowledge and an enduring curiosity. life will continue to be a journey of discovery if you tend the fires of curiosity that burn brightly in all of us. such curiosity led eric kandel, here at nyu, to his lifetime goal, to discover the chemical and cellular basis of human memory. a few years after his graduation, he was doing research on cats. but he had the idea of focusing on an animal with a simpler, more fundamental brain : the california sea slug. his colleagues all but ridiculed him for the idea. they “ knew ” that the study of the lowly sea slug was irrelevant for understanding human memory. kandel ’ s surgically - skilled collaborator deserted him. to get up to speed on sea slugs, he had to go abroad to study. but kandel persisted and, in 2000, his curiosity won him the nobel prize. it was, as you must have guessed, for deciphering the chemistry of memory in humans, as revealed by his research on sea slugs. kandel ’ s life, i believe, demonstrates how a persistent curiosity can help us reach ambitious goals, even with great roadblocks in the way. a second tool for lifelong intellectual growth is a willingness to listen carefully to others. these days, technology allows us access to a great breadth of perspectives, but it also allows us to limit what voices we hear to the narrow range we find most agreeable. listening to others, especially those with whom we disagree, tests our own ideas and beliefs. it forces us to recognize, with humility, that we don ’ t have a monopoly on the truth. yankee stadium is a natural venue for another lesson : you won ’ t succeed all the time. even ruth, gehrig and dimaggio failed most of time when they stepped

the chartering authority and the federal deposit insurance corporation ( fdic ) application for deposit insurance. the timeframe for receiving all of the required regulatory approvals to open for business often takes well in excess of a year. of course, this uncertainty must be endured after initial capital has been raised, shareholders identified, and a management team ready to begin work. as one can imagine, these delays can present unique challenges for de novo founders including incurring more startup expenses than anticipated, having difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified - 6management to obtain approval, and experiencing challenges raising additional start - up capital investment. some of the uncertainty surrounding the de novo process flows from supervisory perceptions of this proposed business model. for example, a de novo business plan that focuses on providing banking - as - a - service outside of a defined geographic footprint presents different risks than a business model that focuses on retail banking in an underserved market. it stands to reason that the regulatory expectations for each business model, including capital levels, risk management, and compliance, will vary. even controlling for the variability in business model, the standards and expectations for a de novo application that will be viewed and treated favorably are opaque and may shift significantly over time, even between and among the regulators. the absence of de novo bank formation over the long run will create a void in the banking system, a void that may contribute to a decline in the availability of reliable and fairly priced credit, the absence of financial services in underserved markets, and the continued shift of banking activities beyond the regulatory perimeter. bank mergers and acquisitions a more immediate concerning influence is the dramatically evolving approach to bank mergers and acquisitions ( m & a ) by some prudential regulators. it is helpful to consider bank m & a broadly, to include not only bank - to - bank mergers subject to approval under the bank merger act, but also the broader set of business combinations contemplated under sections 3 and 4 of the bank holding company act, and under section 10 of the home owners ’ loan act. 6 12 u. s. c. § § 1467a, 1842, 1843. - 7these m & a transactions allow banks to thrive in our dynamic banking system, and help to promote the long - term health and viability of banks. m & a also ensures that some institutions have a meaningful path to transitioning bank ownership. in the absence of a viable m & a framework, we increase the potential for additional risks including limited opportunities for succession planning, especially