Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said he needs further clarity on the path of inflation before lowering interest rates

The Federal Reserve held firm on its current interest rate levels after its latest meeting, but inflation numbers are leading to talk of potential action in third and fourth quarters.

Forty-four percent of respondents said they expect Trump to seek to to politicize the central bank or limit its power if he returns to the White House. Overall, they put a probability of 40% on the Fed losing its autonomy under a second Trump administration. 

Beth Hammack, who stepped down as the bank's co-head of global finance earlier this year, will take the helm as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland later this summer following the retirement of longtime President Loretta Mester.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr Monday spoke at length about efforts to enhance banks' liquidity and long-term debt positions after last year's bank failures while saying little about the capital hikes in the embattled interagency Basel III endgame proposal.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there have been "no decisions" on the controversial capital reform plan, but banks and others who have criticized the proposal are eager for an indication about what's next.

The Federal Open Market Committee thinks that confusing everyone completely is good for confidence, that intangible but entirely necessary ingredient for financial stability, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

What ultimately keeps the balance-sheet reduction going, the bank said, is the fact that the Federal Reserve will likely be undeterred by any brief spikes in a key overnight funding benchmark — the rate on overnight repurchase agreements.

The Federal Open Market Committee held the federal funds rate at current levels, citing "lack of further progress" toward meeting inflation goals.

Recent economic data have shown inflation stubbornly above the Fed's 2% target, putting rate cuts in jeopardy. Lauren Saidel-Baker, an economist with ITR Economics, parses the FOMC meeting, Chair Powell's press conference and takes a look at future policy.

The Federal Reserve's Office of the Inspector General says the Fed has yet to fulfill 65 recommendations, and also identified 18 outstanding issues at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Federal Reserve chair's comments coincide with the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington. They also come as groups like the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are being scrutinized.

The Federal Home Loan Bank System stepped up advances by 37% or more to Silicon Valley, Signature and First Republic banks ahead of their failures, the GAO says in a post-mortem on last year's banking crisis. The findings add to the debate about whether the system should be a lender of last resort.

With Americans expected to owe more than usual this year due to higher incomes and a booming stock market, bank reserves could potentially fall below a key level many speculate is critical to funding-market stability.

The Federal Reserve Board governor and frequent regulatory critic says it would be appropriate for the U.S. to deviate from the agreed-upon international standards to reflect "unique characteristics" of the American banking system.

Logan, whose remarks are closely watched by investors given her prior role managing the central bank's asset portfolio at the New York Fed, said she's increasingly concerned that inflation progress could stall out. 

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr Wednesday discussed regulators' ongoing concerns over banks' unrealized losses and commercial real estate values — particularly in the office sector.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s latest client survey showed that outright short positions in US Treasuries rose to the most since the start of the year in the week leading up to April 1.

Harmonizing standards for liquidity coverage ratios and discount window pledges could prevent the type of strains that led to last year's bank failures, according to a new paper whose authors include former Federal Reserve Govs. Dan Tarullo and Jeremy Stein.

D.A. Davidson Director of Wealth Management Research James Ragan will review and analyze the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting.