Michelle Bowman, the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, spoke at a private dinner in New York hours after attending the central bank’s policy meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported, a period when officials are restricted from commenting on monetary policy.
The event in New York was hosted by Bank of America on the same day the Federal Open Market Committee concluded their policy meeting under new Chairman Kevin Warsh, the newspaper said. Policy makers met on June 16 and 17 where they left interest rates unchanged in a range of 3.5% to 3.75% but signaled growing support for rate hikes this year.
Warsh used his debut press conference to signal a shake-up in the central bank’s messaging by announcing a task force designed to look at how the Fed is communicating with investors and the public.
Under the Fed’s rules, members of the FOMC are in a so-called blackout period in which they don’t speak publicly on monetary policy for almost two weeks before and after each policy meeting. The quiet period begins two Saturdays before each regularly scheduled FOMC session until the close of the Thursday following each gathering. FOMC meetings, which happen eight time a year in Washington, typically start on a Tuesday and end on a Wednesday.
In a statement, Bowman said she did not breach FOMC policy.
“I did not share my views on monetary policy,” Bowman said. “I have consistently complied with all applicable FOMC and ethics rules and remain firmly committed to doing so,” she said.
Bowman took over as the Fed’s top banking regulator a year ago. She was nominated after her predecessor, Michael Barr, resigned from that role in a bid to avoid a potential battle with President Donald Trump over the position.