level of roughly 13 percent, and estimates suggest that only a quarter of total household debt is exposed to rising interest rates in the near term. net credit growth to emerging markets has been moderate relative to past periods. growth in commercial bank assets has picked up a bit in recent quarters, but remains significantly below the pace of the second half of the 1990s. as the financial markets have built in expectations of a gradual rise in the fed funds rate over the next two years, financial institutions have had some time to position themselves for an environment of higher interest rates and volatility. there have been adjustments in credit spreads and other risk assets, which in some areas had fallen to historically low levels, but these reversals have been tempered by what it still overall a favorable view of corporate credit fundamentals. and it is worth drawing attention to the fact that the average duration of the mortgage market has increased significantly over the last nine months to the point where the amount of hedging pressure on interest rates related to extension risk is likely to be contained even as interest rates rise. the fact that these adjustments have begun ahead of any change in monetary policy probably will help diminish the strains in the financial system that might otherwise be expected to accompany this type of transition. even so, risk managers need to be attentive to, and react appropriately to, the pressures that could emerge following this extended period of low interest rates and a steep yield curve. the agenda for the supervisory community remains dominated by the following broad priorities : • we are moving ahead with basle ii to bring a more sophisticated assessment of capital adequacy and risk management techniques to the supervisory framework. • our ongoing supervisory examinations continue to concentrate on strengthening the internal management and control infrastructure across the various dimensions of risk management and compliance. • we are supporting the important efforts underway to better align u. s. and international accounting standards and to improve the quality and integrity of public disclosure. • we are working to encourage firms to proceed with their investments in greater resilience and geographic range called for in the interagency paper on sound practices to strengthen the resilience of the u. s. financial system. • we continue to encourage efforts to strengthen all aspects of our national payments and settlement systems. • and we are engaged across a number of fronts internationally to provide a more integrated framework of supervision that better matches the integration of national financial systems and the increased global reach of the largest financial institutions. as part of our supervisory process we monitor closely the

john c williams : building an equitable future remarks ( via videoconference ) by mr john c williams, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the economic inequality policy forum : the impacts of covid - 19 on communities of color and policy insights for an equitable economic recovery, 24 september 2020. * * * hello everyone, and welcome to the new york fed ’ s third economic inequality policy forum. it ’ s a pleasure to speak with all of you who are joining us for this conversation. for me, today ’ s event is about sharing research and hearing your recommendations, so i ’ m going to keep my opening remarks brief. before i continue, let me give the disclaimer that the views i express are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the federal open market committee or anyone else in the federal reserve system. since the outbreak of the pandemic, we ’ ve seen severe economic pain, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and enormous uncertainty about the future. the health and economic effects of covid - 19 have created tremendous hardship for many americans across the country, but they have been especially painful for communities of color. we know that people of color and black people in particular have experienced higher rates of illness and death. significant representation in essential services work and insufficient access to healthcare are key factors that have contributed to these outcomes. 1 the pandemic ’ s convergence with a moment of reckoning for the united states around racial justice makes conversations on issues like equitable growth even more important and relevant. when i think about equitable growth, i think about an economy where everyone can realize their full economic potential. while today ’ s conversation is about equitable recovery, everyone here is aware that an equitable economy did not exist before the pandemic. another important dimension of equitable growth is equal access. and the pandemic exposed just how dramatic the fault lines in racial disparities are, for access to things like healthcare, credit, and housing. recent research by the new york fed revealed that black - owned businesses are almost twice as likely to shutter during covid - 19 as white - owned firms. black - owned businesses are also more likely to be located in coronavirus hot spots. 2 i ’ m hearing about how these statistics are playing out for families through regular conversations with community leaders like many of you in our district and beyond. far too many are facing unemployment, losing access to their healthcare, and dealing with