##s and build equity in their homes, we would expect lenders to clearly communicate to borrowers that this may not happen with non - traditional products. when affordability products are offered along with easing of traditional credit underwriting practices, such as income verification and sound property appraisals, these products may pose potentially higher risks of default than traditional mortgages. in august, standard & poor's revised its ratings criteria for option - arm securitizations, increasing the amount of credit enhancement required. the bank regulators are conducting a survey of industry practices with respect to affordability products and are considering guidance on the subject in the near future. we hope to find out whether financial institutions are fully assessing and managing the new risks posed by affordability products. bank supervisors today also have concerns about commercial real estate, defined as those real estate loans where the primary source of repayment is derived from the rental income or sale proceeds of commercial property. this has historically been a highly volatile asset class, and it played a central role in the banking problems of the late 1980s and early 1990s. federal reserve staff is currently considering supervisory guidance on sound risk management practices for commercial real estate exposures, with the goal of issuing the guidance on an interagency basis. banking supervisors are carefully monitoring rising commercial real estate concentrations at some banking organizations. at banks with high concentrations, bank supervisors expect risk - management practices, underwriting standards, and capital levels to keep pace with loan growth. during previous downturns in the credit cycle, banks with high commercial real estate concentrations have suffered significant losses. smaller banks as a group have shown the strongest appetite for commercial real estate loans, and some believe that commercial real estate lending remains an area in which small banks can particularly effectively compete with larger banks. so far, underwriting standards are high by historic standards, and much higher than in the period preceding the earlier crises. still, standards may be under some downward pressure as a result of strong competition and tight spreads. regulatory capital developments i would now like to discuss a few recent developments pertaining to regulatory capital. as most of you probably know, in the past two weeks there has been activity in u. s. implementation of the basel ii capital framework, as well as in the development of revisions to current u. s. basel i - based capital rules. last week, the four federal bank regulatory agencies - - the federal reserve board, the federal deposit insurance corporation, the office of the comptroller of the currency and the

janet l yellen : remarks on women ’ s history month remarks by ms janet l yellen, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the women ’ s history month reception, us capitol, washington dc, 25 march 2014. * * * it ’ s an honor and a pleasure for me to be here with you to mark women ’ s history month, which itself has some history behind it. march 8, 1911 was the first international women ’ s day, and it was 1980 when president carter established national women ’ s history week. in 1987, congress acted to make that week a full month. women, of course, are also a part of history for the other 11 months of the year. and i would add that women were influencing the course of history long before 1980, or 1911. but i am glad that there is, each year, a time when we pause to think about the role of women, because history is more than simply what happened, and more than what women and men did to make it happen. history is what we remember about those deeds. it is the lessons we have taken from the past and the knowledge we draw on to live today and to shape the future. for me, one lesson from history is that it is no coincidence that america ’ s great success in the past century came as women steadily increased their participation in every aspect of society. starting with gaining the vote, just a few years before international women ’ s day, “ the american century, ” as it ’ s sometimes known, was also a century of progress for women. fundamental to our country ’ s values, to those ideals that have been and continue to be so influential around the world, is the principle of equality for all, including for women. one reason america ’ s example is influential elsewhere is because progress toward these ideals has been accompanied by great success in broadly raising living standards. and i think our economic success has been due in substantial part to the fuller participation and contribution of women to the economy. their increasing participation in the workforce, particularly after 1970, was a major factor in sustaining growing family incomes. making fuller use of the talents and efforts of women in the workplace has made us more productive and prosperous. if i were to apply this lesson, i would hope that our nation continues to reap the benefits of greater participation by women in the economy and that we do everything that we can to foster that participation. women have made great progress in many occupations and professions