FOMC Minutes

Meeting of Federal Open Market Committee March 9, 1971 MINUTES OF ACTIONS A meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was held in the offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., PRESENT: on Tuesday, March 9, 1971, at 9:30 a.m. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Burns, Chairman Hayes, Vice Chairman Brimmer Clay Daane Kimbrel Maisel Mayo Mr. Mitchell Mr. Morris Mr. Robertson Mr. Sherrill Messrs. Coldwell, Eastburn, and Swan, Alternate Members of the Federal Open Market Committee Messrs. Heflin and Francis, Presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and St. Louis, respectively Mr. Holland, Secretary Mr. Broida, Deputy Secretary Messrs. Bernard and Molony, Assistant Secretaries Mr. Hackley, General Counsel Mr. Hexter, Assistant General Counsel Mr. Partee, Economist Messrs. Axilrod, Eisenmenger, Gramley, Hersey, Reynolds, Scheld, Solomon, and Taylor, Associate Economists Mr. Holmes, Manager, System Open Market Account Mr. Coombs, Special Manager, System Open Market Account 3/9/71 Mr. Kenyon, Deputy Secretary, Board of Governors Mr. Leonard, Assistant Secretary, Board of Governors Mr. Cardon, Assistant to the Board of Governors Mr. O'Brien, Special Assistant to the Board of Governors Mr. Williams, Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mr. Keir, Associate Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mr. Bryant, Associate Adviser, Division of International Finance, Board of Governors Mr. Wendel, Chief, Government Finance Section, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Miss Ormsby, Special Assistant, Office of the Secretary, Board of Governors Miss Eaton, Open Market Secretariat Assistant, Office of the Secretary, Board of Governors Miss Orr, Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Board of Governors Messrs. MacDonald and Strothman, First Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and Minneapolis. respectively Messrs. Parthemos and Cravan, Senior Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and San Francisco, respectively Messrs. Hocter, Andersen, Billington, and Green, Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Dallas, respectively Messrs. Gustus and Kareken, Economic Advisers, Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and Minneapolis, respectively Messrs. Meek and Schadrack, Assistant Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Secretary reported that advices had been received of the election by the Federal Reserve Banks of members and alternate members of the Federal Open Market Committee for the term of one year beginning March 1, 1971, that it appeared that such persons were legally qualified to serve, and that they had executed their oaths of office. -3- 3/9/71 The elected members and alternates were as follows: Frank E. Morris, President of the Federal Reserve Bark of Boston, with David P. Eastburn, President of the rederal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, as alternate; Alfred Hayes, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with William F. Treiber, First Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as alternate; Monroe Kimbrel, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, with Philip E. Coldwell, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, as alternate; Robert V. Mayo, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, with the person who shall become President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as alternate; George H. Clay, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, with Eliot J. Swan, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, as alternate. By unanimous vote, the following officers of the Federal Open Market Committee were elected to serve until the election of their successors at the first meeting of the Committee after February 29, 1972, with the understanding that in the event of the discontinuance of their official connection with the Board of Governors or with a Federal Reserve Bank, as the case might be, they would cease to have any official connection with the Federal Open Market Committee: Arthur F. Burns Alfred Hayes Robert C. Holland Arthur L. Broida Normand R.V. Bernard and Charles Molony Howard H. Hackley David B. Hexter Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Deputy Secretary Assistant Secretaries General Counsel Assistant General Counsel -4- 3/9/71 J. Charles Partee Economist Stephen H. Axilrod, Robert M. Eisenmenger, George Garvy, Lyle E. Gramley, A.B. Hersey, John E. Reynolds, Karl A. Scheld, Robert Solomon, Charles T. Taylor, and Clarence W. Tow Associate Economists By unanimous vote, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was selected to execute transactions for the System Open Market Account until the adjournment of the first meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee after February 29, 1972. By unanimous vote, Alan R. Holmes and Charles A. Coombs were selected to serve at the pleasure of the Federal Open Market Committee as Manager of the Systen Open Market Account and as Special Manager for foreign currency operations for such Account, respectively, it being understood that their selection was subject to their being satisfactory to the Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Secretary's Note: Advice subsequently was received that Messrs. Holmes and Coombs were satisfactory to the Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for service in the respective capacities indicated. By unanimous vote, the minutes of actions taken at the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee held on February 9, 1971, were approved. The memoranda of discussion for the meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee held on January 12 and February 9, accepted. 1971, were 3/9/71 -5 The reports of audit of the System Open Market Account and of foreign currency transactions, made by the Board's Division of Federal Reserve Bank Operations as at the close of business on September 25, 1970, and submitted by Mr. Schaeffer, Chief Federal Reserve Examiner, were accepted. It was agreed to retain the procedure, most recently reaffirmed on March 10, 1970, whereby, in addition to members and officers of the Committee and Reserve Bank Presidents not currently members of the Committee, minutes and other records could be made available to any other employee of the Board of Governors or of a Federal Reserve Bank with the approval of a member of the Committee or another Reserve Bank President, with notice to the Secretary. It was also agreed to authorize the Secretary to act on the Chairman's behalf in considering proposals for the addition of members of the Board's staff to the list of those with access to Committee minutes and other records. Consideration was then given to the continuing authorizations of the Committee, according to the customary practice of reviewing such matters at the first meeting in March of every year. Secretary's Note: It had been agreed at the meeting on March 10, 1970, that certain authori zations among those that the Committee had reviewed annually in the past would remain effective until otherwise directed by the Committee, and would no longer be submitted routinely for review each year. Instead,it was understood that these authorizations would be called to the Committee's attention before the first meeting in March of each year and that members would be given 3/9/71 an opportunity to raise any questions they had concerning them. Accordingly, copies of the autho rizations in question (listcd below) had been distributed to the Committee on January 21, 1971, with a request that the members advise the Secretariat if they wished to have any placed on the agenda for consideration at today's meeting. No such requests were received. The authorizations in question were as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Procedure for allocations of securities in the System Open Market Account. Distribution list for periodic reports prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Authority for the Chairman to appoint a Federal Reserve Bank as agent to operate the System Account in case the New York Bank was unable to function. Resolutions providing for continued operation of the Committee, and for certain actions by the Reserve Banks, during an emergency. Resolution relating to examinations of the System Open Market Account. It was agreed that the authorization for the lending of Government securities from the System Open Market Account, contained in paragraph 3 of the continuing authority directive with respect to domestic open market operations, should be retained at this time. By unanimous vote, the continuing authority directive to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with respect to domestic open market operations, 1. as shown below, was reaffirmed: The Federal Open Market Committee authorizes and directs the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to the extent necessary to carry out the most recent current economic policy directive adopted at a meeting of the Committee: (a) To buy or sell U. S. Government securities in the open market, from or to Government securities dealers and foreign and international accounts maintained at 3/9/71 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on a cash, regular, or deferred delivery basis, for the System Open Market Account at market prices and, for such Account, to exchange maturing U.S. Government securities with the Treasury or allow them to mature without replacement; provided that the aggregate amount of such securities held in such Account at the close of business on the day of a meeting of the Committee at which action is taken with respect to a current economic policy directive shall not be increased or decreased by more than $2.0 billion during the period commencing with the opening of business on the day following such meeting and ending with the close of business on the day of the next such meeting; (b) To buy or sell prime bankers' acceptances of the kinds designated in the Regulation of the Federal Open Market Committee in the open market, from or to acceptance dealers and foreign accounts maintained at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on a cash, regular, or deferred delivery basis, for the account of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at narket discount rates; provided that the aggregate amount of bankers' accep tances held at any one time shall not exceed (1) $125 million or (2) 10 per cent of the total of bankers' acceptances outstanding as shown in the most recent acceptance survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, whichever is the lower; (c) To buy U.S. Government securities, obligations that are direct obligations of, or fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, any agency of the United States, and prime bankers' acceptances with maturities of 6 months or less at the time of purchase, from nonbank dealers for the account of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York under agreements for repurchase of such securities, obligations, or acceptances in 15 calendar days or less, at rates not less than (1) the discount rate of the 3/9/71 Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the time such agreement is entered into, or (2) the average issuing rate on the most recent issue of 3-month Treasury bills, whichever is the lower; provided that in the event Government securities or agency issues covered by any such agreement are not repurchased by the dealer pursuant to the agreement or a renewal thereof, they shall be sold in the market or transferred to the System Open Market Account; and provided further that in the event bankers' acceptances covered by any such agreement are not repurchased by the seller, they shall continue to be held by the Federal Reserve Bank or shall be sold in the open market. The Federal Open Market Committee authorizes and 2. directs the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if the New York Reserve Bank is closed, any other Federal Reserve Bank, to purchase directly from the Treasury for its own account (with discretion, in cases where it seems desir able, to issue participations to one or more Federal Reserve Banks) such amounts of special short-term certifi cates of indebtedness as may be necessary from time to time for the temporary accommodation of the Treasury; provided that the rate charged on such certificates shall be a rate 1/4 of 1 per cent below the discount rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the time of such purchases, and provided further that the total amount of such certificates held at any one time by the Federal Reserve Banks shall not exceed $1 billion. 3. In order to insure the effective conduct of open market operations, the Federal Open Market Committee authorizes and directs the Federal Reserve Banks to lend U.S. Government securities held in the System Open Market Account to Government securities dealers and to banks participating in Government securities clearing arrangements conducted through a Federal Reserve Bank, under such instructions as the Committee may specify from time to time. By unanimous vote, the authorization for System foreign currency operations was amended to read as follows: 3/9/71 AUTHORIZATION FOR SYSTEM FOREIGN CURRENCY OPERATIONS 1. The Federal Open Market Committee authorizes and directs the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for System Open Market Account, to the extent necessary to carry out the Committee's foreign currency directive and express authorizations by the Committee pursuant thereto: A. To purchase and sell the following foreign currencies in the form of cable transfers through spot or forward transactions on the open market at home and abroad, including transactions with the U.S. Stabilization Fund established by Section 10 of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, with foreign monetary authorities, and with the Bank for International Settlements: Austrian schillings Belgian francs Canadian dollars Danish kroner Pounds sterling French francs German marks Italian lire Japanese yen Mexican pesos Netherlands guilders Norwegian kroner Swedish kronor Swiss francs B. To hold foreign currencies listed in para graph A above, up to the following limits: (1) Currencies purchased spot, including currencies purchased from the Stabilization Fund, and sold forward to the Stabilization Fund, up to $1 billion equiva lent; (2) Currencies purchased spot or forward, up to the amounts necessary to ful other forward commitments; fill 3/9/71 -10(3) Additional currencies purchased spot or forward, up to the amount necessary for System operations to exert a market influence but not exceeding $250 million equivalent; and (4) Sterling purchased on a covered or guaranteed basis in terms of the dollar, under agreement with the Bank of England, up to $200 million equivalent. C. To have outstanding forward commitments undertaken under paragraph A above to deliver foreign currencies, up to the following limits: (1) Commitments to deliver foreign currencies to the Stabilization Fund, up to the limit specified in paragraph 1B(1) above; and (2) Other forward commitments to deliver foreign currencies, up to $550 million equivalent. D. To draw foreign currencies and to permit foreign banks to draw dollars under the reciprocal currency arrangements listed in paragraph 2 below, provided that drawings by either party to any such arrangement shall be fully liquidated within 12 months after any amount outstanding at that time was first drawn, unless the Committee, because of exceptional circumstances, specifically authorizes a delay. 2. The Federal Open Market Committee directs the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to maintain reciprocal currency arrangements ("swap" arrangements) for System Open Market Account for periods up to a maximum of 12 months with the following foreign banks, which are among those designated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under Section 214.5 of Regulation N, Relations with Foreign Banks and Bankers, and with the approval of the Committee to renew such arrangements on maturity: 3/9/71 -11- Foreign bank Amount of arrangement (millions of dollars equivalent) Austrian National Bank 200 National Bank of Belgium 500 Bank of Canada National Bank of Denmark Bank of England Bank of France German Federal Bank Bank of Italy Bank of Japan Bank of Mexico 1,000 200 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,250 1,000 130 Netherlands Bank Bank of Norway 300 200 Bank of Sweden Swiss National Bank Bank for International Settlements: Dollars against Swiss francs 250 600 600 Dollars against authorized European currencies other than Swiss francs 1,000 3. Currencies to be used for liquidation of System, swap commitments may be purchased from the foreign central bank drawn on, at the same exchange rate as that employed in the drawing to be liquidated. Apart from any such purchases at the rate of the drawing, all transactions in foreign currencies undertaken under paragraph 1(A) above shall, unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Committee, be at prevailing Market rates and no attempt shall be made to establish rates that appear to be out of line with underlying market forces. 4. It shall be the practice to arrange with foreign central banks for the coordination of foreign currency transactions. In making operating arrangements with foreign central banks on System holdings of foreign cur rencies, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shall not commit itself to maintain any specific balance, unless authorized by the Federal Open Market Committee. Any agreements or understandings concerning the adminis tration of the accounts maintained by the Federal 3/9/71 -12- Reserve Bank of New York with the foreign banks designated by the Board of Governors under Section 214.5 of Regulation N shall be referred for review and approval to the Committee. 5. Foreign currency holdings shall be invested insofar as practicable, considering needs for minimum working balances. Such invest ments shall be in accordance with Section 14(e) of the Federal Reserve Act. 6. A Subcommittee consisting of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Committee and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors (or in the absence of the Chairman or of the Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors the members of the Board designated by the Chairman as alternates, and in the absence of the Vice Chairman of the Committee his alternate) is authorized to act on behalf of the Committee when it is necessary to enable the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to engage in foreign currency operations before the Committee can be consulted. All actions taken by the Subcommittee under this paragraph shall be reported promptly to the Committee. 7. The Chairman (and in his absence the Vice Chairman of the Committee, and in the absence of both, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors) is authorized: A. With the approval of the Committee, to enter into any needed agreement or understanding with the Secretary of the Treasury about the division of responsibility for foreign currency operations between the System and the Secretary; B. To keep the Secretary of the Treasury fully advised concerning System foreign currency operations, and to consult with the Secretary on such policy matters as may relate to the Secretary's responsibilities; and C. From time to time, to transmit appropriate reports and information to the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. -13 3/9/71 8. Staff officers of the Committee are authorized to transmit pertinent information on System foreign currency operations to appropriate officials of the Treasury Department. 9. All Federal Reserve Banks shall participate in the foreign currency operations for System Account in accordance with paragraph 3 G(1) of the Board of Governors' Statement of Procedure with Respect to Foreign Relationships of Federal Reserve Banks dated January 1, 1944. 10. The Special Manager of the System Open Market Account for foreign currency operations shall keep the Committee informed on conditions in foreign exchange markets and on transactions he has made and shall render such reports as the Committee may specify. By unanimous vote, the foreign currency directive shown below was reaffirmed: FOREIGN CURRENCY DIRECTIVE 1. The basic purposes of System operations in foreign currencies are: A. To help safeguard the value of the dollar in international exchange markets; B. To aid in making the system of international payments more efficient; C. To further monetary cooperation with central banks of other countries having convertible currencies, with the International Monetary Fund, and with other international payments institutions; D. To help insure that market movements in exchange rates, within the limits stated in the International Monetary Fund Agreement or established by central bank practices. reflect the interaction of underlying economic forces and thus serve as efficient guides to current financial decisions, private and public; and 3/9/71 -14E. To facilitate growth in international liquidity in accordance with the needs of an expanding world economy. 2. Unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Federal Open Market Committee, System operations in foreign currencies shall be undertaken only when necessary: A. To cushion or moderate fluctuations in the flows of international payments if such fluc tuations (1) are deemed to reflect transitional market unsettlement or other temporary forces and therefore are expected to be reversed in the fore seeable future; and (2) are deemed to be disequil ibrating or otherwise to have potentially destab ilizing effects on U.S. or foreign official reserves or on exchange markets, for example, by occasioning market anxieties, undesirable speculative activity, or excessive leads and lags in international payments; B. To temper and smooth out abrupt changes in spot exchange rates, and to moderate forward premiums and discounts judged to be disequilibrating. Whenever supply or demand persists in influencing exchange rates in one direction. System transactions should be modified or curtailed unless upon review and reassessment of the situation the Committee directs otherwise; C. To aid in avoiding disorderly conditions in exchange markets. Special factors that might make for exchange market instabilities include (1) responses to short-run increases in international political tension, (2) differences in phasing of international economic activity that give rise to unusually large interest rate differentials between major markets, and (3) market rumors of a character likely to stimulate speculative transactions. Whenever exchange market instability threatens to produce disorderly conditions, System transactions may be undertaken if the Special Manager reaches a judgment that they may help to reestablish supply and demand balance at a level more consistent with the prevailing flow of underlying payments. In such cases, the Special Manager shall consult as soon as practicable with the Committee or, 3/9/71 -15in an emergency, with the members of the Subcommittee designated for that purpose in paragraph 6 of the Authorization for System foreign currency operations; and D. To adjust System balances within the limits established in the Authorization for System foreign currency operations in light of probable future needs for currencies. 3. System drawings under the swap arrangements are appropriate when necessary to obtain foreign currencies for the purposes stated in paragraph 2 above. 4. Unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Committee, transactions in forward exchange, either outright or in conjunction with spot trans actions, may be undertaken only (i) to prevent forward premiums or discounts from giving rise to disequilibrating movements of short-term funds; (ii) to minimize speculative disturbances; (iii) to supplement existing market supplies of forward cover, directly or indirectly, as a means of encouraging the retention or accumulation of dollar holdings by private foreign holders; (iv) to allow greater flexibility in covering System or Treasury commitments, including commitments under swap arrangements, and to facilitate operations of the Stabilization Fund; (v) to facilitate the use of one currency for the settle ment of System or Treasury commitments denoninated in other currencies; and (vi) to provide cover for System holdings of foreign currencies. By unanimous vote, the System open market transactions in foreign currencies during the period February 9 through March 8, 1971, were approved, ratified, and confirmed. By unanimous vote, the open market transactions in Government securities, agency obligations, and bankers' acceptances during the period February 9 through March 8, 1971, were approved, ratified, and confirmed. 3/9/71 -16By unanimous vote, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was authorized and directed, until otherwise directed by the Committee, to execute transactions in the System Account in accor dance with the following current economic policy directive: The information reviewed at this meeting suggests that real output of goods and services, which declined in the fourth quarter of 1970, is rising in the current quarter primarily because of the resumption of higher automobile production. Although the unemployment rate has edged down recently, it remains high. Wage rates in most sectors are continuing to rise at a rapid pace. Movements in major price measures have been diverse; most recently, the rate of advance moderated for con sumer prices and wholesale prices of industrial commodities, but wholesale prices of farm products and foods rose sharply. Bank credit increased considerably further in February, as business loans strengthened substantially and banks again made sizeable additions to their holdings of securities. The money stock both narrowly and broadly defined expanded sharply in February. Short-term interest rates and mortgage rates have fallen further in recent weeks but yields on new issues of corporate and municipal bonds have risen considerably, in part as a result of the very heavy calendar of offerings. The over-all balance of payments deficit in January and February was exceptionally large. Imports increased more rapidly than exports in January, and capital outflows have been stimulated by widened short term interest rate differentials. In light of the foregoing developments, it is the policy of the Federal Open Market Committee to foster financial conditions conducive to the resumption of sustainable economic growth, while encouraging an orderly reduction in the rate of inflation and the attainment of reasonable equilibrium in the country's balance of payments. To implement this policy, System open market operations until the next meeting of the Committee shall be conducted with a view to maintaining prevailing money market conditions while accommodating -17- 3/9/71 any downward movements in long-term rates; provided that money market conditions shall be modified if it appears that the monetary and credit aggregates are deviating significantly from the growth paths expected. It was agreed that the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee would be held on Tuesday, April 6, 1971, at 9:30 a.m. The meeting adjourned. Secretary

Federal Reserve (1971, March 8). FOMC Minutes. Fomc Minutes, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/fomc_minutes_19710309

@misc{wtfs_fomc_minutes_19710309,
  author = {Federal Reserve},
  title = {FOMC Minutes},
  year = {1971},
  month = {Mar},
  howpublished = {Fomc Minutes, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/fomc_minutes_19710309},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}