Joined the Federal Reserve: June 16, 2014
Left the Federal Reserve: January 31, 2026
Date of Birth: January 1, 1962
| Summary | Lean | Statement Date | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 An Update on the Outlook, Liquidity, and Resilience: "Given weak and decelerating foreign demand, it is critical to carefully protect and preserve the progress we have made here at home through prudent adjustments to the policy path. Tighter financial conditions and softer inflation expectations may pose risks to the downside for inflation and domestic activity. From a risk-management perspective, this argues for patience as the outlook becomes clearer." | Dovish | March 7, 2016 | March 7, 2016 |
| 2 Fed's Brainard: Global 'crosscurrents' may hit US: "She told CNBC that, while the recent core inflation number was "encouraging," she wanted to see more consistent movement toward the inflation target. Brainard noted that the Fed has made "a lot of progress" toward achieving full employment, but has not yet seen enough movement toward its inflation goal. "I'm going to be very focused on inflation, but I want to see a pattern. I want to see some persistence. That would give me comfort," she said." | Dovish | March 7, 2016 | March 7, 2016 |
| 3 What Happened to the Great Divergence?: "As policy adjusts to the evolution of the data, the combination of heightened spillovers from weaker foreign economies, along with a lower neutral rate, could result in a lower policy path in the United States relative to what many had predicted." | Dovish | February 26, 2016 | February 26, 2016 |
| 4 Fed’s Brainard Makes Case for ‘Watchful Waiting’: "Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard thinks there are strong reasons to go slowly on further interest-rate increases... Her concern is that stresses in emerging markets including China and slow growth in developed economies could spill over to the U.S. “This translates into weaker exports, business investment and manufacturing in the United States, slower progress on hitting the inflation target, and financial tightening through the exchange rate and rising risk spreads on financial assets,” Ms. Brainard said Monday in response to questions from The Wall Street Journal. “Recent developments reinforce the case for watchful waiting,” she said." | Dovish | February 1, 2016 | February 3, 2016 |
| 5 Normalizing Monetary Policy When the Neutral Interest Rate Is Low: "The lower neutral rate means the normalization of the federal funds rate is likely to follow a more gradual and shallower path than in previous cycles, although the actual path will be determined by economic conditions. It also implies that the likelihood of the federal funds rate hitting the zero lower bound will be persistently greater than it has been previously, which could make it more difficult to achieve our objectives of full employment and 2 percent inflation. With the nominal neutral interest rate lower than in the past, and with policy options being more limited if conditions deteriorate than if inflationary pressures accelerate, the asymmetry in risk-management considerations counsels a cautious and gradual approach." | Dovish | December 1, 2015 | December 1, 2015 |
| 6 Unconventional Monetary Policy and Cross-Border Spillovers: "Looking ahead, a further weakening of foreign growth could pose downside risks to the U.S. outlook. Under normal circumstances, policy in the United States could adjust to signs that spillovers from developments abroad were affecting activity in the United States. But with policy rates in the United States at the lower bound, the ability to offset spillovers from adverse developments in foreign economies with conventional policy is constrained, suggesting greater caution than normal." | Dovish | November 6, 2015 | November 6, 2015 |
| 7 Fed hike 'very dependent' on incoming data: Brainard: "The U.S. economy is gaining some strength but a stronger dollar has already tightened financial conditions and the Federal Reserve's first rate hike in nearly a decade will depend on incoming data, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Wednesday." | Neutral | November 4, 2015 | November 4, 2015 |
| 8 Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy: "For these reasons, I view the risks to the economic outlook as tilted to the downside. The downside risks make a strong case for continuing to carefully nurture the U.S. recovery--and argue against prematurely taking away the support that has been so critical to its vitality." | Dovish | October 12, 2015 | October 12, 2015 |