And in this crisis I continue to believe in the importance of the working relationship between bankers and bank supervisors. You can count on me to be an advocate for the programs established by the Federal Reserve to support minority institutions. The Federal Reserve, of course, is mainly known for its efforts in formulating the country's monetary policy.
But as this group well knows, the Fed also plays an important part in the supervision of financial institutions. It has the primary rule-writing authority for many consumer protection regulations that govern a wide range of financial activities. It provides liquidity to the financial system.