Commenters highlighted the importance of safety in faster payments and noted the Federal Reserve's record of resiliency, especially during periods of stress. Commenters observed that a Federal Reserve real-time retail payment service would increase competition, decrease market concentration, and provide a neutral platform for innovation. This broad support echoes and expands on the conclusions of the Faster Payments Task Force.
But even taking into account possible factors that would tend to push down the equilibrium rate - for example, business pessimism, energy prices, and our net export position - the real funds rate still seems low. Second, financial conditions in general look to be supportive of continued solid economic expansion.