the fed ’ s accommodative monetary policies. and credit availability to both households and small businesses has improved. in recent months, as i noted earlier, there has been some softness in the economic data. recent indicators of both household spending and business investment have slowed, and industrial output has declined. the commerce department ’ s initial estimate was that real gross domestic product was nearly flat in the first quarter of 2015. if confirmed by further estimates, my guess is that this apparent slowdown was largely the result of a variety of transitory factors that occurred at the same time, including the unusually cold and snowy winter and the labor disputes at ports on the west coast, both of which likely disrupted some economic activity. and some of this apparent weakness may just be statistical noise. i therefore expect the economic data to strengthen. all of that said, the headwinds facing our economy have not fully abated, and, as such, i expect that continued growth in employment and output will be moderate over the remainder of the year and beyond. despite the recovery i noted in home prices and a greater number of home sales, residential construction activity remains quite low. i mentioned the ongoing issues with mortgage credit, but more generally, many years of a weak job market and slow wage gains seem to have induced many people to double - up on housing, and many young adults continue to live with their parents. population growth is creating a need for more housing, whether to rent or to own, and i do expect that continuing job and wage gains will encourage more people to form new households. nevertheless, activity in the housing sector is likely to improve only gradually. the pace of business investment has also been only modest during this recovery, and some of the reasons might persist a while longer. businesses seem not to have had sufficient confidence in the strength and durability of the recovery to undertake substantial capital expenditures. moreover, some analysts have suggested that uncertainty, not only about the strength of the recovery but also about economic policy, could be a significant factor. and the fact that many businesses seem to be holding large amounts of cash may suggest that risk aversion is playing a role. weak investment in the energy sector is also likely to persist. this represents the negative side to the fall in oil prices, one being felt by the oil - producing regions of the country. new domestic oil drilling has plunged over the past few months, and we have also seen a slowdown in activity in sectors that supply oil production companies,

by income held only 8 percent of all financial assets held by households. a larger lesson from the financial crisis, of course, is how important it is to promote assetbuilding, including saving for a rainy day, as protection from the ups and downs of the economy. i surely hope that our nation will not face another crisis anytime soon as severe as the one we recently experienced. but for many lower - income families without assets, the definition of a financial crisis is a month or two without a paycheck, or the advent of a sudden illness or some other unexpected expense. families with assets to draw on are able to deal with these developments as bumps in the road. families without these assets can end up, very suddenly, off the road. according to the board ’ s recent survey of household economics and decisionmaking, an unexpected expense of just $ 400 would prompt the majority of households to borrow money, sell something, or simply not pay at all. the federal reserve ’ s mission is to promote a healthy economy and strong financial system, and that is why we have promoted and will continue to promote asset - building. one way we do this is through the community development programs at each of our 12 reserve banks, and through the federal reserve board ’ s division of consumer and community affairs in bis central bankers ’ speeches washington. as a research institution, and a convener of stakeholders involved in community development, i believe the fed can help you in carrying out your mission, to encourage families to take the small steps that over time can lead to the accumulation of considerable assets. thank you for the chance to be a small part of this conference, and for your commitment to a cause that i strongly support. bis central bankers ’ speeches