John C. Williams, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Speaks at BMCC

John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, gave a talk for Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) students, faculty, alumni and BMCC Foundation Board members on December 13 in the college’s Fiterman Conference Center.

Business Management Professor Julian Schroeder opened the event, welcoming President Williams as well as the BMCC community, and students and faculty from other nearby universities. More than 170 guests filled both a main lecture room and spillover room that featured video coverage of the event.

BMCC Interim President Karrin E. Wilks introduced President Williams. “I am delighted to welcome our esteemed guest, faculty, staff and students to this very special event,” said Wilks. “At BMCC, our highest priority is to dramatically improve student success, both inside and outside the classroom, which includes providing students with experiences that enhance their understanding and curiosity, as well as providing direct access to leaders in the fields our students are interested in.” President Williams’ talk, she said, “provides an extraordinary opportunity for students to gain insight into monetary policymaking, the U.S. central banking system and a wide range of issues that affect the United States and the world.”

Before serving as President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — also known as the New York Fed — President Williams served as the President and CEO of the San Francisco Fed, and earlier, as its Director of Research. He also worked as an economist at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors and was a lecturer at Stanford, as well as a senior economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Today, as President of the New York Fed, President Williams is the Vice Chair and a permanent voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy-making body.

His extensive talk was followed with a question-and-answer session. Standing from the packed audience, students asked about factors the Fed considers as it implements monetary policy, such as global warming; how interest rates are adjusted during a period of economic downturn; actions the Fed took during the financial crisis; the balance between employment and inflation rates; the relation between the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the U.S. Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), and more.

President Williams offered generous responses to the students’ questions. After an hour, the speaker session was concluded and the conversation on monetary policy continued in a reception in the Fiterman Conference Center.

BMCC team excels in the College Fed Challenge

As President Williams explained in his talk, The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States, created by Congress to provide the nation with a flexible, stable monetary and financial system.

The 12 regional Reserve Banks, including the New York Fed, and the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. make up the Federal Reserve System.

The Fed also sponsors the College Fed Challenge, an annual fall semester competition for college teams, and organized into divisions identified by the level of economics classes the participants have taken. Qualifying for the Maiden Lane division, BMCC teams have competed and excelled for more than a decade.

This year’s team of seven BMCC students — Fabian Carchi, Daniel Bercovich, Afrym Hodzic, Herdeveinp Dorelle Ngoundou Ngoma, Yekutiail Blaustein, and Dieudonne Ndjebayi Sehled — took first place in the Second District’s Maiden Lane division.

The team was mentored and led by Business Management Professors Julian Schroeder and Ioannis Tournas. As participants in the College Fed Challenge, they were invited to attend and observe the winners of the Liberty Street division at the College Fed Challenge finals in Washington, D.C. and meet Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell.