Georgetown Law Hosts Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr

“A strong and resilient banking system benefits the American people,” said Barr, who will step down from his role as vice chair on Feb. 28 but continue to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Barr took office as vice chair in 2022 following an appointment by President Joe Biden. “That is why it is so important to have strong regulation and supervision as shock absorbers to protect households and businesses from risks emanating from the financial system.”

In his remarks, “Risks and Challenges for Bank Regulation and Supervision,” Barr outlined key areas of concern for regulators in light of efforts to deprioritize governmental oversight across a number of federal agencies by the new presidential administration. Such areas of concern, he said, include the need to carry out post-financial crisis banking reforms and encourage responsible innovation when it comes to cryptocurrency and other emergent technology.

Barr also emphasized the importance of the Federal Reserve’s independence, which he called “critical to our ability to meet our statutory mandates and serve the American public” and reflected on lessons learned from recent financial crises and bank failures, underscoring the need for regulation and supervision in the financial sector to ensure that banks do not take on excessive risk resulting in widespread economic harm.

“[A] perennial lesson from the history of bank regulation and supervision is that the job is never done, and that the constant evolution of finance means risks will also evolve,” he said. “Risk-taking must be balanced with the overarching need to maintain a resilient banking system that can continue to play its crucial role for households and businesses in good times and in bad.”

Barr’s speech was followed by a fireside chat with Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Financial Technology Chris Brummer, former faculty director of Georgetown Law’s Institute of International Economic Law, and a question-and-answer session with students and members of the media.

Click here to view a full recording of Barr’s address and the following discussion, as recorded by C-SPAN.