appears to be continuing to rebound. the most recent employment report showed a labor market with solid job gains. the average pace of job gains over the past year has slowed somewhat and the labor force participation rate has also improved over the same time frame, a sign that labor market supply and demand may be coming into better balance. the banking system continues to be strong and resilient. banks have tightened lending standards due to higher interest rates and funding costs and in anticipation of future regulatory requirements. but despite this tightening of lending standards, there has not been a sharp contraction in credit that would significantly slow economic activity. bank 1 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches loan balance growth has slowed, but ongoing strong household and business balance sheets combined with the growing importance of non - bank lending suggest that monetary policy may have smaller effects on bank lending and the economy than in the past. given the mixed data releases - strong spending data but a decline in inflation and downward revisions to jobs created in previous months - i supported the fomc's decision to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate. since then, the gdp data have also been revised. the frequency and scope of recent data revision complicates the task of projecting how the economy will evolve. but i continue to expect that further rate increases will likely be needed to return inflation to 2 percent in a timely way. the summary of economic projections released in connection with the september fomc meeting showed that the median participant expects inflation to stay above 2 percent at least until the end of 2025. this, along with my own expectation that progress on inflation is likely to be slow given the current level of monetary policy restraint, suggests that further policy tightening will be needed to bring inflation down in a sustainable and timely manner. it is important to note that monetary policy is not on a pre - set course. my colleagues and i will make our decisions based on the incoming data and its implications for the economic outlook. i remain willing to support raising the federal funds rate at a future meeting if the incoming data indicates that progress on inflation has stalled or is too slow to bring inflation to 2 percent in a timely way. returning inflation to the fomc's 2 percent goal is necessary to achieve a sustainably strong labor market and an economy that works for everyone. i would also like to briefly discuss recent and future developments in banking regulation. the bank failures and accompanying banking system stress earlier this year made clear that the federal reserve, and in some cases

approach that uses all available tools and considers all relevant factors. we should also carefully consider whether our approach is appropriate in the moment : are the federal banking agencies acting in a consistent manner in their bank supervisory activities? are federal banking agencies coordinating appropriately with state banking agencies when reviewing state - chartered banks? and fundamentally, are supervisory decisions being driven by a comparison or horizontal review of differences among institutions that may have very different business activities and risk profiles? are supervisors acting pro - cyclically, or overreacting to the events of march 2023? when agencies adopt a more adversarial approach to supervision, or apply standards that are disproportionate to risk, does that negatively impact a bank's ability and willingness to engage in open communication with their examiners? asking these questions can help us appropriately calibrate our revised approach to banking supervision and help us avoid reacting in a way that is disproportionate to an institution's risk to the banking system. before concluding my prepared remarks, i'd like to discuss the federal reserve's and the other federal banking agencies'rulemaking agenda. a number of rules have been proposed for comment or are currently in the pipeline. some have already been published for comment including the proposal to implement basel iii " endgame " by significantly expanding capital requirements and bringing the threshold for compliance down to include all banks over $ 100 billion in assets from only the largest gsib banks, and the expansion of the long - term debt requirement from only the largest banks again to all banks over $ 100 billion in assets. still other proposals have not yet been published or moved to the next stage of the rulemaking process, including the community reinvestment act rulemaking, the further consideration of climate guidance, and others. the board has also publicly indicated it may propose additional revisions in the future to regulation ii. the scope of some of these reforms will be extensive and could reshape the contours of the bank regulatory framework in important ways, including for community banks. it is critical that stakeholders engage in the comment process and communicate with policymakers to share their views on the rulemaking agenda, including the specific impacts - intended and unintended - of any changes. public comments, data, and analysis help to inform decisions made throughout the rulemaking and proposal process. the bankers in this room and across the country are vitally important to the banking system, and to the broader economy, and it is important that as reforms take