michelle w bowman : brief remarks brief remarks by ms michelle w bowman, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the fed listens event hosted by the federal reserve bank of dallas, odessa, texas, 20 april 2023. * * * thank you, lorie, it is great to be here, and to hear the broad range of perspectives that are represented here today. in 2019, during a very different time in our history, the federal reserve began a year of listening sessions with the public, tied to changes being considered in our approach to monetary policy, which was : how the federal open market committee uses interest rates and other tools to promote a healthy economy. while data can tell us a lot, hearing the stories behind that data helps to paint a picture that brings it to life for me and for my colleagues. we have heard a lot about how americans are faring in the economy, and about how they are affected by our policy decisions. and so, our effort to create opportunities to enhance our ability to listen has continued, and has become what i expect will be, and certainly should be, a permanent feature of the federal reserve's decision - making. it is a simple fact that what the fed does in washington has a significant impact on how families and businesses spend, borrow and plan for the future. that is exactly why we need to learn about the experiences of people in odessa, midland and other communities in the permian basin. lately, as you know, the fed has been focused on lowering inflation, which is essential if we want to support a growing economy and rising incomes. we want to hear how inflation, along with the higher interest rates needed to bring inflation down, is affecting you and your communities. these conversations provide important context to the economic data that we consider, and they help guide our thinking about how we can best achieve stability and support for the economic wellbeing of all americans. one of the important issues we will talk about today is workforce development, which in every community depends on effective partnerships with the private sector. for many years, this region has been challenged to find qualified workers in certain industries. but now, the challenge of finding willing and qualified workers stretches far beyond just those requiring specific skills training. our strong labor market has made it extremely difficult for growing businesses to find workers, which, if not addressed, could eventually undermine a strong economy. i am very interested to learn about the different strategies and approaches being used in this region

and the various steps underway to help promote and support its adoption. i will then discuss the global foreign exchange committee ’ s ( gfxc ) objectives, which include the ongoing evolution and maintenance of the code. finally, i will spend some time discussing particular areas where the market is evolving and where the gfxc is currently soliciting additional input, including on “ last look. ” development of the code and its principles the foreign exchange working group ( fxwg ), led by guy debelle of the reserve bank of australia, was established under the auspices of the bank for international settlements ( bis ) markets committee in july 2015. 2 it was tasked with facilitating the development of a single, global set of principles for the fx market and accompanying tools to promote adherence to those principles. i had the pleasure of leading the work stream to write the code, while chris salmon of the bank of england led the effort to create tools to promote adherence. the work of the fxwg was supported by the market participants group ( mpg ), led by david puth of cls, which included members from all corners of the fx industry. 1 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches as made clear in the foreword, the code is not regulation — it is a set of voluntary, global best practices. the development of successful best practices requires active engagement from a diverse spectrum of market participants, which we were fortunate to have throughout this effort. the fx global code is intended for all fx market participants engaged in the global wholesale market. this includes sell - side institutions, certain market infrastructures, and buyside institutions as well. the spectrum of buy side institutions active in fx is particularly complex and varied, encompassing hedge funds, high frequency trading firms, asset managers and corporates among others. the size and complexity of their fx market activities and the nature of those activities may differ significantly. hearing the viewpoints of many different institutions was critical to delivering a relevant code for this diverse landscape, recognizing that while the code applies to all, the details of precisely how it applies may differ. i found that the series of frank debates and discussions that we — market participants and central bankers alike — had over the past two years was an important process in itself, and not just a means to an end. the result was multiple drafts of the code and, ultimately, a product that more clearly articulated principles and defined terminology. the 55 principles within the global code focus on promoting transparency, fairness and mitigating risk across six