Yellen Treads Carefully on Regulatory Issues in Senate Panel Appearance
Asked whether some of the rollbacks proposed by the Trump administration
and congressional Republicans might increase the chances of a new crisis, she said, “Some of them, yes.”
At the same time, Ms. Yellen was carefully conciliatory, repeatedly agreeing
that some rules might be too strict, and expressing a general willingness to consider changes.
Senator Mike Crapo, the Idaho Republican who leads the banking committee, opened the hearing Thursday by expressing concern
that regulators, including the Fed, were impeding growth by constraining bank lending.
On Thursday, she offered a slightly different take, saying
that sluggish inflation was a concern but that the Fed also remained concerned that strong job growth might lead to more inflation.
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUMJULY 13, 2017
WASHINGTON — The American economy is doing well enough
that senators largely ignored the subject as they questioned Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, for two hours on Thursday morning.
“I believe we have done a great deal since the financial crisis to strengthen the financial system
and to make it more resilient,” she told the committee.
