After lowering the target for the policy interest rate (i.e., the federal funds rate) to the historically low level of 1 percent in June 2003, the Federal Reserve provided forward guidance as a way to generate monetary accommodation. The statement issued in August 2003 indicated that the [Federal Open Market] Committee [FOMC] believes that policy accommodation can be maintained for a considerable period.
Today, in discussions across the country, we are communicating our plans and expectations to these firms, with particular attention to beginning this information gathering. A separate program will apply to the thousands of other organizations supervised by the Federal Reserve, including community and regional banking organizations.