basel ii proposals and associated supervisory guidance, so there are not yet any established standards for basel ii. in some cases, we were able to identify practices used for qis4 that appeared to be clearly inconsistent with what is envisioned in the framework. in other cases, it was not easy to determine whether the practices used in qis4 would be within the expected range of acceptable practice for u. s. basel ii standards. clearly, one of the real challenges we will face as supervisors is to how to define the range of expected practice for basel ii standards, how to communicate that range to institutions, and how to deal with practices that are on the margin. uncertainty about the expectations placed on institutions does not benefit supervisors or bankers. one of the key ways to reduce that uncertainty would be to continue our communication with the industry broadly, and with institutions individually, during the entire implementation process. certainly, as we move closer to implementation, supervisory oversight of the basel ii implementation methodologies by our examination teams will increase. indeed, during the qualification process, we expect to have several additional opportunities to evaluate institutions ’ risk - management processes, models, and estimates - - and provide feedback to the institutions on their progress. so qis4, an assessment conducted at one point in time, should not be considered a complete forecast of institutions ’ future basel ii capabilities or the framework ’ s ultimate effects. but qis4 did give a very useful insight into the linkage between capital and risks, and how institutions are attempting to quantify that linkage. indeed, it was one of the best glimpses we had to date. as we move forward with basel ii implementation, we expect to gather even more useful supervisory information about banks ’ progress in meeting basel ii standards, the potential impact of the framework, and, perhaps most importantly, banks ’ ability to measure and manage the risks to which they are exposed. as supervisors, we will highly value this opportunity to enhance our understanding of banking organizations, which we believe will promote safety and soundness in the banking system. identifying and addressing home - host issues given this extensive international audience, it might be helpful for me to offer the federal reserve ’ s perspective of the so - called “ home - host ” aspects of basel ii implementation - - a perspective that i believe is shared by my u. s. supervisory colleagues. first, we recognize that some may have concerns about the recent announcement by the u. s. agencies to implement basel ii with a one - year delay

john c williams : the “ new normal ” for growth remarks by mr john c williams, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the community bankers conference, hosted by the federal reserve bank of new york, new york city, 4 april 2019. * * * as prepared for delivery note : these remarks are based on those delivered at the economic club of new york on march 6, 2019. introduction good morning, everyone. it ’ s a pleasure to be hosting this conference, and i ’ d like to start by welcoming you all to the new york fed. i know there ’ s an opportunity to tour the gold vault later, and i definitely recommend it. there ’ s something very exciting about our more traditional approach to storing money … even though the gold bars pose certain logistical and practical challenges. if you drop one on your foot you ’ ll definitely know about it. community banks i ’ m going to start today by talking a bit about community banks. aside from a short period running a pizza restaurant, i ’ ve spent all of my career in the federal reserve system. and i ’ ve had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the united states. when you visit communities in more rural or remote parts of the country, away from big urban centers like new york and san francisco, you really see the value of community banks. in many places you ’ re the only game in town when it comes to banking services and credit. you know the customers in your community because you are an integral part of the community. you represent an essential part of our financial system and economy. but i know you didn ’ t come here today to hear me tell you what an important job you do. what i hope is that i can give you some insights that will be useful going forward. i know interest rates play a vital role in your businesses, so i ’ d like to spend a bit of time talking about the outlook and what that means for monetary policy. but before i do, i need to give the standard fed disclaimer that the views i express are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the federal open market committee or anyone else in the federal reserve system. where things stand for the last decade we ’ ve all had our focus on recovery from the great recession. the path to getting back on track has been a long one, and there is a sense that the economy has now fully recovered. gdp growth came in at 3 percent in 2018 and i expect it