Jerome H Powell: Opening remarks - 2024 US Treasury Market Conference

Opening remarks (via prerecorded video) by Mr Jerome H Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the 10th Annual US Treasury Market Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, 26 September 2024.

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

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the 10th Annual U.S. Treasury Market Conference. "Tenth annual" is a phrase that generates a bit of surprise, and much pride. It is surprising because it does not seem like the first of these gatherings, which I was honored to play a role in organizing, was all that long ago. But we can also take pride because the conference has proven useful and important for a full decade, as I expect it will do for many more years to come.

Much has changed in the economy since we first gathered in 2015-but the importance of the U.S. Treasury market has not. As you all know, this market is the deepest and most liquid in the world. In addition to meeting the financing needs of the federal government, it plays a critical role in the implementation of monetary policy. It is no exaggeration to say that the Treasury market is part of the bedrock of our economy and indeed of the world economy.

The October '14 flash crash and the subsequent publication of the Interagency Working Group report on that event are what brought us together for the first annual conference.¹ October 2014 was a wakeup call because there had never been such a large swing in Treasury prices in such a short period of time. The Interagency Working Group report shed light on how much the structure of the Treasury market had changed and how large a role high-speed, electronic trading firms were playing in it. It also showed the value of cooperation and communication between the five agencies in the working group, something that proved again to be vital during the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am pleased to see that all working group members are represented here today. You will be hearing directly from many senior leaders, including your host, President Williams; Vice Chair Barr; and Secretary Yellen, who, of course, was Fed chair at the time of the first conference.

It is essential that our Treasury markets are able to efficiently transform Treasury securities into cash, even at times of elevated stress. As I noted at this event in 2015, "these markets need to keep functioning at a high level, and we all have a stake in making sure that they do." I remain wholly dedicated to that goal.²

I wish you a productive and educational conference. Thank you.

¹ See Interagency Working Group on Treasury Market Surveillance, Joint Staff Report: The U.S. Treasury Market on October 15, 2014 (PDF) (Washington: Interagency Working Group, July 2015).

² See Jerome H. Powell, "Opening Remarks" (speech at the 2015 Roundtable on Treasury Markets and Debt Management: Evolution of Treasury Market and Its Implications, New York, NY, November 20, 2015).

i. Note: On September 26, 2024, the text of the speech was updated to reflect the delivered remarks in the video version of this speech.