, responsible, and customer - centric standards of business conduct. the passage of the fcp act will enable financial regulators to sanction business practices and entities that pose grave and irreparable injury to financial consumers. it will deter frauds and scams, and ensure that every juan and maria are provided with positive customer experiences. fcp act features overview 7. now, let me talk about the salient features of the fcp act. the act covers the full range of financial products and services offered by the banking, insurance, payments and fintech industries. even investment advisory services are covered. aligned with international standards, the act strengthens the oversight and enforcement powers of financial regulators to address current weaknesses of existing laws, rules, regulations. the act grants regulators with authority to determine the reasonableness of fees and charges ; suspend erring employees ; revoke licenses of erring financial institutions ; and impose sanctions to ensure compliance with the intent of its provisions. 8. most importantly, the act provides financial consumers with new, immediate, and efficient avenues for redress by granting financial regulators with adjudicatory authority to conduct hearings on consumer complaints. this proposed measure provides alternate, less cumbersome, legal recourse for financial consumers. consumer complaints can be escalated and resolved at the level of the financial regulators, ensuring quick resolutions, hence de - clogging court dockets. existing courts may then focus on more pressing matters. 9. the passage of the fcp act is not only a matter of necessity, it is an issue of urgency. as mentioned earlier, as financial products and services continue to rise, so do risks. and we, policymakers, cannot stand idly by while the juans and marias continue to suffer from the limitations of our existing laws. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches 10. without doubt, if properly and swiftly implemented, the fcp act will reinforce the trust and confidence of the public in the financial system, and in the government ’ s ability to uphold consumer welfare. 11. we look forward to this committee ’ s — and the senate ’ s — full and continued support to the enactment of the financial consumer protection act as a priority measure. thank you very much. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

after the pandemic recession which was exacerbated by russia ’ s invasion of ukraine. turning to the 3 - month change ( the right panel ) energy prices have been declining sharply recently and we expect them to continue to decline this year, reflecting the path of crude oil futures prices and the expectation that unusually elevated gasoline margins will, on average, decline over the remainder of this year. so, what do i take away from all this? i think there are practical implications for getting a clear picture of the economy and setting appropriate monetary policy, and also a reminder for me about the trust i bear as a public official. most practically, if i had focused on core inflation over the last two years and tended to look past increases for food and energy, and especially for housing, i would have missed an alarming increase in inflation, and reacted more slowly than my federal reserve colleagues and i appropriately did to start bringing down inflation. the federal open market committee raised interest rates more quickly than it had in more than forty years, and i think the progress we have made on inflation shows how important it was to act so urgently. just as importantly, excluding those prices would have neglected how much hardship this high inflation has been for many people, especially lower - income individuals and families. high inflation is a very different experience when you are effectively paying a higher rate than others, when a higher share of your expenses and income are spent on necessities, and when you have little in savings to draw on, as lower - income people do. when i talk about how important it is to win this inflation fight, it is partly in recognition of this inescapable reality for many millions of people. - 11 fortunately, there are signs that food, energy, and shelter prices will moderate this year. an important factor has been the federal reserve ’ s ongoing fight to lower inflation through tighter monetary policy. we are seeing that effort begin to pay off, but we have farther to go. and, it might be a long fight, with interest rates higher for longer than some are currently expecting. but i will not hesitate to do what is needed to get my job done. the inflation rate for necessities : a look at food, energy, and shelter inflation christopher j. waller member board of governors of the federal reserve system remarks at the 2023 agribusiness conference arkansas state university february 8, 2023 the views expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the board of governors