Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has invited former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King to serve as co-chair of a newly established Federal Reserve communications working group.
Warsh has committed to reforming how the Fed communicates with investors and the public, including how policymakers convey views on the monetary policy outlook. Appointing the 78-year-old King to lead this task force provides a rare opportunity for an external review of the Fed's operations.
King served as Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, leading the institution through the 2008-2009 financial crisis. King confirmed through his office that he will serve as co-chair of the communications working group but declined to comment further. A Fed spokesperson also declined to comment.
Warsh indicated Wednesday that appointments of external experts for the working group could be announced next week, which will include experts from outside the Federal Reserve System and from outside the United States.
Speaking at a discussion at the European Central Bank's annual central banking forum in Sintra, Portugal, on Wednesday, Warsh said: "Some of them have sat in chairs like this in the past. Some of them will be academics sitting in the audience, but we are genuinely trying to find the most outstanding talent among practitioners in the economics profession."
Discussing the working group in Portugal, Warsh said: "Sometimes we need a foreigner to see things a bit more clearly. The goal is not to prejudge the outcome, and I certainly will not do that."
The new Fed chair has been critical of forward guidance, the policy tool used by officials to signal the likely path of interest rates to markets. Last month, he also declined to submit his own forecasts as part of the "dot plot" in policymakers' quarterly interest rate projections.
Warsh stated Wednesday: "The dot plot will remain, at least in the short term, but we have set up a working group to look at it."
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