Senior Federal Reserve Official to Speak on Campus

09/18/2017 

A senior executive with the New York Federal Reserve will visit campus Monday, Sept. 25, to discuss monetary policy and assess the current economic outlook.

Richard Peach, senior vice president in the Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies Function of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in Corey Union Exhibition Lounge.

His talk, “The Federal Reserve Bank, Monetary Policy and the current Economic Outlook,” is free and open to all students, faculty and staff.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to hear first-hand how the economic theory they have learned in their courses is put into practice by the Federal Reserve Bank,” said Kathleen Burke, chair of SUNY Cortland’s Economics Department. 

Peach will discuss both the origins and modern functions of the Federal Reserve System, our nation’s central bank. He will give his assessment of the current economic outlook, and discuss current debates and perceived challenges to making monetary policy in today’s economic environment. 

In his role at The Fed, Peach participates in the development of the bank's forecast for the U.S. economy and oversees its projections of federal receipts and spending. His long-term research interests have been primarily in housing and real estate finance.

“The Federal Reserve System performs key functions in guaranteeing the stability of the US financial system; regulating, supervising, and overseeing individual banks and financial institutions,” explained Associate Professor Flavia Dantes, whose efforts with students participating in the annual College Fed Challenge led to Peach’s visit. “The Fed is also responsible for conducting the nation’s monetary policy to promote maximum employment and price stability as mandated by the U.S. Congress.

“That being said, there is still a lot of confusion regarding the importance of the Fed, the role it plays in stabilizing the financial system, and its limited, indirect, and uncertain impact over economic performance. Dr. Peach’s lecture will help clarify some of these issues. This is a major opportunity for all undergraduates and members of our community to understand the importance of this key institution, and the things it can and cannot do to help our economy.”

Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1992, Peach was staff vice president and deputy chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. He played a key role in the development of the association’s weekly survey of mortgage loan applications, a closely watched indicator of conditions in housing and mortgage markets.

Before that, he was staff vice president for forecasting and policy analysis for the National Association of Realtors.  Peach earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Maryland, and did his undergraduate work at Pennsylvania State University.