Warsh Revives Transparency Agenda at Fed with Rate Meeting Cutbacks

A British lawmaker's question about central bank transparency sparked an independent review by Kevin Warsh in 2014. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, asked Bank of England officials to explain why their monetary-policy meetings were not recorded and published.

Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, conducted the review and produced a 64-page guide for central bankers on how to think, argue, decide, and explain themselves. The report focused on institutional changes rather than interest rates.

Twelve years later, Warsh is considering similar reforms at the Federal Reserve as chairman. He has proposed reducing the number of rate-setting meetings from eight to six, with two extra months between decisions for economic data to accumulate.

Warsh's recommendations in 2014 aimed to preserve transparency while allowing central bankers to deliberate and decide without unnecessary public scrutiny. He suggested recording only the second day of policy meetings, when officials formally discuss and vote on their decisions, and publishing those transcripts after five to ten years.