jerome h powell : opening remarks - 2024 us treasury market conference opening remarks ( via prerecorded video ) by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the 10th annual us treasury market conference, federal reserve bank of new york, new york city, 26 september 2024. * * * hello, everyone, and welcome to the 10th annual u. s. treasury market conference. " tenth annual " is a phrase that generates a bit of surprise, and much pride. it is surprising because it does not seem like the first of these gatherings, which i was honored to play a role in organizing, was all that long ago. but we can also take pride because the conference has proven useful and important for a full decade, as i expect it will do for many more years to come. much has changed in the economy since we first gathered in 2015 - but the importance of the u. s. treasury market has not. as you all know, this market is the deepest and most liquid in the world. in addition to meeting the financing needs of the federal government, it plays a critical role in the implementation of monetary policy. it is no exaggeration to say that the treasury market is part of the bedrock of our economy and indeed of the world economy. the october'14 flash crash and the subsequent publication of the interagency working group report on that event are what brought us together for the first annual conference. 1 october 2014 was a wakeup call because there had never been such a large swing in treasury prices in such a short period of time. the interagency working group report shed light on how much the structure of the treasury market had changed and how large a role high - speed, electronic trading firms were playing in it. it also showed the value of cooperation and communication between the five agencies in the working group, something that proved again to be vital during the disruptions caused by the covid - 19 pandemic. i am pleased to see that all working group members are represented here today. you will be hearing directly from many senior leaders, including your host, president williams ; vice chair barr ; and secretary yellen, who, of course, was fed chair at the time of the first conference. it is essential that our treasury markets are able to efficiently transform treasury securities into cash, even at times of elevated stress. as i noted at this event in 2015, " these markets need to keep functioning at a

better understood, and steps are being taken to reduce and contain them. while shocks to the system, especially from unanticipated directions, can never be ruled out, these reforms go a long way to reducing the likelihood and severity of future crises. consequently, the fsb has started to pivot from policy development to evaluating the effectiveness of the reforms it has advocated. i just mentioned that this year the fsb began a two - year evaluation of its too - big - to - fail reform package. we are also completing an evaluation of the effects that reforms have had on infrastructure finance and lending to small - and mediumsized enterprises. going forward, these evaluations will be critical for assessing where more work needs to be done. casting my gaze backward, there is much to be proud of in the last decade, success that is reflected in the strength and stability of the global financial system. so now i would like to leave the past behind and turn to the future. but while janus was the god of beginnings, he was also the god of endings, and as such was able to look both backwards and forwards at the same time. assessing financial vulnerabilities is a critical part of the fsb mandate, and that is inherently a forward - looking job. the global financial system is constantly evolving, influenced in part by past experience, and by regulation. as i look ahead, i think we must consider whether the ways in which we responded to the financial crisis may not be the most appropriate ones to address the challenges and ongoing changes in the financial system that we currently face. this year the fsb has embarked on an important project to review and update its financial stability surveillance framework. while much of the attention of the fsb in its early years was on post - crisis reforms, members also spent time thinking about new vulnerabilities to the system. as we reach our 10th anniversary, it is a good time to review the ways we monitor the everchanging financial system. the aim of this review is to ensure that we have a framework that is comprehensive, consistent over time, and effective at identifying relevant vulnerabilities. if we are not at the cutting edge in our ability to assess the state of the financial system, we do a disservice to the public we serve, which relies on a smoothly functioning financial system. in addition, we are looking at how we communicate our understanding of the state of the financial system to the g20 and to the world