, ensure the stability and integrity of our financial systems. mr. chairman, in a strange and a paradoxical sort of a way, it is somewhat “ fortunate ” that the current financial crisis shocked ( and indeed, almost ruined ) the worlds financial system, at the present stage of evolution of the worldwide financial landscape. if, on the other hand, this crisis had not impacted us at this time of history and consequently we had happily progressed at the same pace for a further 10 years or so, and then in 2017 or 2018 this shock had hit us, can anyone imagine the magnitude of the disaster at that time? in fact, i am quite sure that, if that eventuality had taken place, this crisis would have been too much for the world ’ s financial system to bear, and the resulting catastrophe would have crippled the world ’ s financial systems, as well as the world ’ s political, security and social systems with disastrous consequences. perhaps some keen film maker might even consider doing a simulation of such a scenario, and then making a gripping and horror filled movie, allowing those of us with horror appetites to experience such a dreadful tragedy! mr. chairman, while we are putting into effect various initiatives to improve our processes and procedures to respond to the crises, we must also be conscious that we should not throw the baby out with the soiled bath water. yes, the bath water has been terribly muddied and needs to be replenished. however, at the same time we must realize that the baby although rather dirty, is still quite wonderful. the world ’ s current financial system with all its imperfections, can still deliver enormous value. already, the bold and far reaching steps introduced by many governments and regulatory authorities as well as by the “ victims ” of destability, have shown us that the “ baby ” could recover and grow. in fact, many economies are showing signs of recovery and are seeing light at the end of their respective tunnels. in the light of these developments, we must maintain our energy levels and optimism. even in the midst of the crisis, we have observed many systems that are solid, and frameworks and institutions that are strong, reliable and credible. these institutions must be recognized and encouraged to provide the leadership and direction to bring stability and credibility back, quickly. it is also time for the productive sectors of economies to re - invigorate themselves and deliver higher outputs, so as to support a faster turn - around. mr. chairman,

. new york, june 21, 2022 ). - 9at a more basic level, we need to focus on access to fast, efficient digital payments. this is a matter both of efficiency and of fairness. low - income households can ill afford to wait days for their income checks to clear, nor can small businesses. a three - day payment delay is an annoyance to someone with savings and ample credit, but it is a costly burden, and sometimes a serious problem for others. and overdraft and insufficient funds fees hit lmi households hard. i have been working on issues of financial inclusion for a significant portion of my career as a public official and as an academic. i am so pleased with the progress made toward instant payments under the leadership of vice chair brainard and chair powell, and i am looking forward to doing whatever i can to support this work, including the launch of the fednow service. the federal reserve has a responsibility to facilitate payments that work well for everyone, and we are committed to doing so. community reinvestment rounding out my discussion of access to financial services, i will end my remarks today by touching on the importance of the community reinvestment act ( cra ). the cra, first passed in 1977, encourages insured depository institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they are chartered, including lmi neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institutions. 9 the cra was designed to address past abuses of financial institutions, such as redlining. the cra sends the unequivocal message that there is no place for discrimination in the financial system, and that every community and every borrower deserve to be treated fairly. earlier this year the occ, the fed, and the fdic jointly invited comment on a proposal designed to strengthen and modernize cra regulations to achieve the “ what is the community reinvestment act ( cra )? ” board of governors, last modified august 24, 2022, https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / consumerscommunities / cra _ about. htm. - 10 objectives of the law. i strongly support the goals of the proposal and look forward to contributing to the important work underway, again led by vice chair brainard. so, to wrap up, i have tried to lay out my approach and a bit of my near - term agenda, as vice chair for supervision, for making the financial system safer and fair