*  *  *  Chairman Watt, Ranking Member Paul, and other members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss with you the important public policy reasons why the Congress has long given the Federal Reserve a substantial degree of independence to conduct monetary policy while ensuring that we remain accountable to the Congress and to the American people.
The consolidation of public sector  3/8  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  banks does not seem to have had any negative impact on their outreach or inclusive banking efforts as the total number of bank branches has largely remained same (with minor reductions due to rationalisation) pre-and-post merger.