Even in situations in which the payments system has continued to function normally, the information the Fed has gleaned from its payment activities has been helpful for understanding and managing financial stresses.
Third, the Federal Reserve has developed extensive international relationships and has worked closely with foreign central banks and, as a consequence of its responsibility for the supervision of cross-border banking operations, with foreign supervisors. These relationships have proved useful in past crises, and are likely to be even more critical in the future as the globalization of finance continues.