Michelle W Bowman: Community banks rise to the challenge

Speech (via webcast) by Ms Michelle W Bowman, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at "Community Banking in the 21st Century," Research Conference, the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, St Louis, 30 September 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Thank you, it is a pleasure to join you virtually today and share a few thoughts on what I am hearing from community banks in the wake of the pandemic, and what the Federal Reserve is doing to assist in the recovery.

When I addressed this conference exactly a year ago, the world was a very different place. COVID-19 has brought hardship and disruption to nearly every aspect of our lives, and even as economic conditions improve, the pandemic continues to weigh on households, businesses, and the economy. Today, I would like to offer some of my observations on current conditions and share with you what I have learned in discussions with community bankers across the nation. This input has shaped my views of how supervision and regulation are affecting community banks in these challenging times-what is working, and what needs to improve. In addition to the Fed's usual consultation with community banks, I have separately embarked on an effort to meet directly with the CEOs of all 685 community banks supervised by the Fed, an undertaking that has already provided valuable insights that I will relate in these remarks.