stability very seriously, and, since march 3, we have deployed our entire toolkit to provide critical support to the economy during this challenging time. in two unscheduled meetings, we voted on march 3 and 15 to cut the target range for the federal funds rate by a total of 150 basis points to its current range of 0 to 25 basis points. in our fomc statements, we have indicated we expect to maintain the target range at this level until we are confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve our maximum - employment and price - stability goals. on march 16, we launched a program to purchase treasury securities and agency mortgagebacked securities in whatever amounts needed to support smooth market functioning, thereby fostering effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions. to date, these purchases have totaled more than $ 2 trillion, and, as we indicated following our april fomc meeting, they are continuing but at a reduced pace, reflecting the substantial improvement in market functioning that has occurred since the program was launched two months ago. since march 17, the federal reserve board has announced the establishment of no fewer than nine new facilities to support the flow of credit to households and businesses. these programs are authorized under emergency lending powers granted to the fed under section 13 ( 3 ) of the federal reserve act and are available only in " unusual and exigent " circumstances and with the consent of the secretary of treasury. 3 i think you will agree that today we face circumstances that are both exigent and unusual. these facilities are supported with money invested by the department of the treasury, drawing on appropriations of more than $ 450 billion authorized by the congress in the cares act ( coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security act ) for the specific purpose of investing in fed programs to sustain the flow of credit to households, firms, and communities during the coronavirus pandemic. with these facilities, we are providing a bridge by stepping in and supporting lending throughout the economy until the recovery takes hold. these programs are designed to offer backstop sources of funding to the private sector, and just the announcement that these backstop facilities would soon be launched appears to have bolstered confidence in capital markets, allowing many companies to finance themselves privately even before the facilities were up and running. but importantly, these are, after all, emergency facilities, and someday — hopefully soon — the emergency will pass. when that day comes and we are confident the economy is solidly on

richard h clarida : us economic outlook and monetary policy speech ( via webcast ) by mr richard h clarida, vice chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the new york association for business economics, new york city, 21 may 2020. * * * it is my pleasure to meet virtually with you today at the new york association for business economics. 1 i have been looking forward to this session, and i am sorry that i cannot join you in person, as i always value my opportunities for dialogue with business and market economists. since mid - march, along with my federal open market committee ( fomc ) colleagues, i have been working from home. while i certainly miss the opportunities for face - to - face interactions along the corridors of the board's eccles building, i am grateful to be able to work from home and want to convey my deep gratitude to all of those on the frontlines of the crisis, who are working outside the comfort of their homes in hospitals, emergency services, and care facilities. current economic situation and outlook while the coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) pandemic has taken a tragic human toll measured in terms of lives lost and suffering inflicted, as a direct result of the necessary public health policies put in place to mitigate and control the spread of the virus, the pandemic has also inflicted a heavy toll on the levels of activity and employment in the u. s. economy. real gross domestic product ( gdp ) declined at a 4. 8 percent annual rate in the first quarter of the year and will almost surely continue to contract at an unprecedented pace in the second quarter. the unemployment rate, which was at a 50 year low of 3. 5 percent as recently as february, surged in april by more than 10 percentage points to 14. 7 percent, an 80 - year high, and it is likely to rise further in may. to put the numbers in some context, more jobs were lost in march and april of this year than had been created in the previous nine years. but while the economic news has been unremittingly awful in recent weeks, financial conditions since the middle of march have eased — and considerably so in many markets. i believe — and most outside observers agree — that this easing of financial conditions is, at least in part, a direct consequence of the actions the federal reserve took at our march 15 meeting, the subsequent announcements over the following days of the creation of nine new