William C Dudley: The role of the Federal Reserve – lessons from financial crises Remarks by Mr William C Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Annual Meeting of the Virginia Association of Economists, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, 31 March 2016. *  *  *  Kenneth Garbade, Jack Gutt, Joyce Hansen, Michael Held and Joseph Tracy assisted in preparing these remarks. It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to speak here today as part of the Virginia Association of Economists annual meeting at Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University. This is an appropriate setting for the topic I will be addressing – the role of the Federal Reserve as the central bank of the United States. When the Federal Reserve Act was enacted in 1913, H. Parker Willis, who had been a professor at Washington and Lee University, played a critical role. He worked closely with Representative Carter Glass of Virginia in crafting the legislative proposal that established the Federal Reserve, and Willis became the first Secretary of the Federal Reserve Board in 1914. Of course, I’m tackling this subject today not just because H. Parker Willis was a professor here in Lexington. Instead, I’m addressing this issue because of the ongoing debate about the role of the Federal Reserve and its structure and governance. My purpose is to demystify the nation’s central bank and to respond to some of the critiques that we continue to face.
We are confident that you, together with other stakeholders would overcome the various challenges and someday soon, we would all be in a position to truly state that we have ushered in development with equality. I wish your Conference all success. BIS Review 88/2007  7