Press Releases

Las Vegas, Nevada — The Federal Reserve will likely lift the federal funds rate in mid-2015, said San Francisco Fed President John C. Williams on Thursday, though that decision is dependent on continued economic improvement and will be “data-driven, not date-driven.” He made the comments in prepared remarks to a luncheon for community and business leaders in Las Vegas. “…The data will drive our decision—not just how close we are to our goals, but how quickly they come into sight,” He said. “And, assuming the economy progresses as anticipated, rates will likely increase relatively gradually,” he added. Williams cautioned that the […]

San Francisco, 30 June, 2014 — The Federal Reserve’s continued accommodation has been absolutely the right stance to take, John C. Williams, president and CEO of the San Francisco Federal Reserve said today. “It was Milton Friedman—one of the greatest economists of the past century and a leading expert on the Great Depression—who taught us that when inflation is too low, monetary policy needs to do more than just lower short-term interest rates near zero,” Williams said. “That’s what we’ve done and it’s worked. We’ve avoided deflation and helped the economy start moving back towards normal.” In remarks to the Utah […]

San Francisco, CA — While it will be a slow and cautious process, monetary policy is on the road to normalization, according to John C. Williams, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.   In a speech to the Association of Trade and Forfaiting in the Americas (ATFA), Williams said, “We’ll venture down this path slowly, and monetary policy will remain highly accommodative for some time.  But I am happy to say that we are on the road back to normal.” Williams was cautiously optimistic, pointing to positive signs of overall economic improvement—including the drop in the […]

Chicago, IL – The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund are proud to present the 2014 Community Reinvestment Awards. This year’s awards focus on cross-sector community development collaborations. The community development field recognizes that no single organization or sector can effectively address the scale of need in low- and moderate income communities. Instead, new and often unlikely partners are starting to work together to combine their expertise and resources to develop comprehensive solutions.  The 2014 awards are meant to showcase innovative […]

Donald R. Knauss Charles A. Wilhoite San Francisco, CA – The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco announced that Alfred A. Plamann, retired CEO of Unified Grocers, Inc., and Tracey C. Doi, group vice president and CFO of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., were reappointed as chair and vice chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) for 2014. Both joined the EAC in 2009.  In addition, it was announced that Donald R. Knauss, chairman and CEO of The Clorox Company in Oakland, CA, and Charles A. Wilhoite, managing director and national director of health care […]

New York, NY — The time is ripe for a return to qualitative forward guidance, said John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.    In remarks to the Money Marketeers of New York University, Mr. Williams said that the Federal Reserve’s introduction in 2011 of specific quantitative guidance about the future path of the federal funds rate made sense at the time because, “…the public’s expectations about our policy plans differed sharply from our own.”  In that scenario, he said, quantitative guidance proved “a very powerful, albeit blunt, tool for bringing public expectations…in closer […]

San Francisco, CA — The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco announced that Adriana M. Boeka, president and CEO, Americas United Bank, Glendale, CA; David E. Doss, president and CEO, Arizona State Credit Union, Phoenix, AZ; Janet A. Garufis, president and CEO, Montecito Bank & Trust, Santa Barbara, CA; Kent A. Steinwert, chairman, president and CEO, Farmers and Merchants Bank of Central California, Lodi, CA; and Stanley C. Wilmoth, president and CEO, Heritage Bank of Nevada, Reno, NV were appointed as the newest members of the Twelfth District’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC). CDIAC members generally serve a three-year term.  […]

Susan Sutherland Seattle, WA — Susan Sutherland will be expanding her responsibilities to include oversight of the Seattle Branch Office and its board of directors, effective March 1, 2014. Ms. Sutherland is currently senior vice president, human resources and statistics, and director of the Office of Diversity & Inclusion for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She succeeds Mark Gould, who was recently appointed first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The Seattle branch office serves the largest geographic area in the Federal Reserve System, including financial institutions in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, […]

James D. Narron San Francisco, CA — James D. Narron has been appointed product manager of the National Cash Product Office (CPO), the Bank announced today. Mr. Narron is currently senior vice president of the Fedwire Securities Services in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s wholesale product office. He was appointed to replace Mark Gould, who was promoted as the Bank’s first vice president and chief operating officer effective February 1, 2014. The CPO provides standard software and processing tools for all cash processing and vault automation systems nationwide, and guides policy, product development, and currency and coin capacity planning […]