At the New York Fed, our mission is to make the U.S. economy stronger and the financial system more stable for all segments of society. We do this by executing monetary policy, providing financial services, supervising banks and conducting research and providing expertise on issues that impact the nation and communities we serve.
As part of the New York Fed’s effort to understand economic conditions across the Federal Reserve’s Second District, the Community Development team visited San Juan, Puerto Rico in September to hear from community leaders about near-term challenges and longer-term opportunities in the metropolitan area. Conversations centered on water system reliability; housing affordability and availability; public health and nutrition; and a promising development in the Island’s food system.
In remarks at the University at Buffalo on September 29, New York Fed President John C. Williams discussed the U.S. economy, monetary policy, and how the Federal Reserve is working to achieve its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.
Many advanced economy central banks—including the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England (BoE), and the European Central Bank (ECB)—responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by conducting asset purchases to support functioning in sovereign bond markets and ease financial conditions. As a result of these purchases, central bank balance sheets grew to historic levels. Since then, these central banks have aimed to reduce their securities holdings and have seen the size of their balance sheets decline from COVID-era peaks (Figure 1). All three central banks have developed tools to ensure they can maintain strong rate control even as their balance sheets have been shrinking.
On Tuesday, September 22, New York Fed President John Williams spoke at the 2026 U.S. Treasury Market Conference about how innovations in market structure have impacted monetary policy implementation.
The overnight U.S. Treasury repo market has experienced remarkable growth, with underlying transaction volumes for the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) expanding from around $1 trillion in early 2022 to $3 trillion today. At the same time, this essential component of the financial system has become increasingly complex, with new segments introduced as market participants adopt central clearing. This article discusses a simplified framework to understand the complex mechanics and flows of the evolving market. This concept, referred to as the Client Segments Framework, helps the Open Market Trading Desk at the New York Fed (the Desk) monitor the repo market, an important market for the transmission of monetary policy, and report conditions to key stakeholders.
The Future of Market Liquidity and Functioning Workshop, which the New York Fed co-hosted in July with The Clark Center for Global Markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, focused on forthcoming changes in securities clearing, potential innovations in payments processing, and how both could impact the underlying structure of markets, market functioning, and monetary policy implementation.
Communities around the nation are grappling with a shortage of affordable housing. In this article, the second in a two-part series, we highlight key ideas from a recent roundtable the New York Fed held with Second District policymakers, bankers, and developers. The discussion centered on factors that are limiting the supply of affordable housing and the possibility that creative financing could spur new affordable developments.
New York State, like much of the country, is grappling with producing more housing units—including those serving low- and moderate-income residents. The New York Fed and NYU’s Furman Center recently convened a series of roundtables that brought together builders, developers, and housing experts to discuss affordable housing challenges and solutions. This article, the first in a two-part series on the issue, reflects the discussion, with a focus on factors that make housing more expensive to build and ideas to reduce costs and increase production.
As part of the New York Fed’s efforts to understand economic conditions throughout the Federal Reserve’s Second District, the Community Development team meets with local leaders to hear about the economic experiences of low- and moderate-income communities. During a June visit to Rochester and Buffalo, a few themes emerged: housing challenges, the possibilities of AI, and workforce shortages. Leaders also spoke about challenges for community-based organizations.
The 2026 New York Fed Innovation Conference, held in June, centered on recent innovations in technology and finance, exploring the critical role regulators and the private sector play in supporting modernization and stability.
