What can Asia expect from Janet Yellen?
Jeremy Sim feels that few could question that Janet Yellen has been one of the brightest stars in the US Fed with a clear and deep understanding of Asian financial systems. February 07, 2014 | Jeremy SimEven before Janet Yellen, chairperson of the US Federal Reserve, backed a slower Fed tapering in the last quarter of 2013, thus giving Asian economies some reprieve and giving regional markets a much needed boost, she was already one of the better liked Federal Reserve officials in Asia. But as global markets tumbled in the days after her confirmation, it is clear that she faces numerous formidable challenges including those left unresolved by previous chairs. Yellen's most pressing tasks include calming emerging markets and successfully managing the tapering but there are longer term considerations. “Even though the Fed has no control over US debt, the Fed chairperson is routinely called to give testimony to Congress on monetary policy and debt issues. Her opinion carries a big weight as it can, and will be used as a weapon by the fiercely divided political factions. It will be interesting to see how she handles such political elements,” said Professor Michael Ong, a former banker turned academic who has been a guest speaker at several Fed conferences. Janet as the Fed's Asia hand More so than most senior US central bankers, Yellen has been closely involved with Asia at our best and at our worst. When the Asian financial crisis broke out in 1997, as the chair of Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, she defended the IMF bailout of Asian countries against critics who wanted foreign lenders to take a severe haircut to instil market discipline. She argued that it was extraordinarily difficult to punish irresponsible lenders without causing catastrophic consequences to the affected countries and the international financial system. Her pithy reply was that “It is simply not acceptable to say that Thailand should be destroyed in order to punish JP Morgan.” She then became preside... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Regulation, Risk and Regulationriskregulation,Risk and Regulation, Regulation,Risk and Regulation, Keywords:Janet Yellen, US Fed, Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan Janet Yellen, US Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan
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