implications for the performance of the u. s. economy — and, by extension, for u. s. monetary policy. by increasing uncertainty around the economic outlook, these shifts in fiscal and trade policy could make it more difficult for the fomc to achieve its dual mandate objectives in the years ahead. longer - term monetary policy issues over the longer term, the fomc will also need to address a number of other important issues. these include : 1 ) determining the appropriate long - term implementation framework for u. s. monetary policy, and 2 ) deciding whether the strategic framework underlying monetary policy decisions needs to be adjusted to mitigate the risks associated with getting pinned at the effective lower bound for short - term interest rates. 9 for the first issue, i see two options : return to the “ corridor ” - type system that was in place prior to the financial crisis, or remain with the framework that has been in place since the crisis — namely, a “ floor ” system. in a corridor system, reserves in the banking system are scarce, and the federal funds rate is set by adjusting the supply of reserves through open market operations to balance demand and supply at the fomc ’ s target range. in contrast, in a floor system, reserves are abundant, so that the interest rate the federal reserve pays on excess reserves, or ioer, is the primary tool used to control the federal funds rate. in my view, the case for retaining the current floor system is very compelling for a number of reasons. first, it is operationally much less complex than a corridor system. in the current regime, the setting of ioer is largely sufficient to maintain the federal funds rate within the 3 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches fomc ’ s target range, as we have seen over the past few years. 10 in contrast, a corridor system requires forecasting the many exogenous factors that affect the amount of bank reserves outstanding, and then engaging in open market operations on a near daily basis to keep reserves at a level consistent with the fomc ’ s target range. 11 this task would likely be more difficult now because of greater fluctuation in these exogenous factors relative to when the corridor regime was last in place. second, a corridor system constrains the federal reserve ’ s ability to provide the types of lenderof - last - resort backstops that can help support financial stability. prior to gaining the authority to pay interest on reserves in the fall

john c williams : the gold beneath our feet remarks by mr john c williams, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the garp global risk forum, federal reserve bank of new york, new york city, 7 november 2019. * * * as prepared for delivery when plans for the new york fed ’ s headquarters here at 33 liberty street were developed in 1921, the building committee compiled 33 pages of requirements for potential architects. 1 i can assure you that our appreciation for bureaucracy has endured the test of time! joking aside, the focus of many of those requirements was specifications for the building ’ s gold vault. beneath our feet lies a triple - tiered vault system with 122 separate compartments for storing gold bars. for those of you who are harry potter fans, it ’ s as close to gringotts bank as you ’ ll find anywhere in the world — although for security reasons i am not allowed to confirm or deny that we have a dragon down there. the whole building was constructed around the vault. engineers had to excavate 117 feet down to the bedrock for a foundation that could support the weight of the construction. why am going into so much depth about the gold? there is a reason! but before i explain, i should give the standard fed disclaimer that the views i express today are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the federal open market committee or others in the federal reserve system. when the building was planned and constructed during the early part of the twentieth century, the gold was seen as a real vulnerability. it was conceivable that someone would try to rob the bank and steal the gold. the only time that ’ s happened was in the bruce willis movie die hard 3, which, to be clear, was only a movie! a lot of that owes to the skill of the architects of the building, and the law enforcement who protect it. but the other reason is that the risks we face today in 2019 look very different to the ones we were planning for in 1921. for a thief today, it ’ s easier to use a laptop to buy some stolen credit card details online and commit fraud than it is to plan a hollywood - style bank heist. and that ’ s what i ’ m going to say a few words about — the changing nature of risk — before handing over to this evening ’ s keynote speaker, john dugan, chair of citigroup. in previous decades it was easier to