FOMC Minutes

Meeting of Federal Open Market Committee March 19-20, 1973 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., on Monday and Tuesday, March 19-20, 1973, beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. PRESENT: Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Burns, Chairman Hayes, Vice Chairman Balles Brimmer Bucher Daane Francis Mayo Mitchell Morris Robertson Sheehan Messrs. Clay, Eastburn, Kimbrel, and Winn, Alternate Members of the Federal Open Market Committee Messrs. MacLaury and Coldwell, Presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks of Minneapolis and Dallas, respectively Mr. Holland, Secretary Mr. Broida, Deputy Secretary Messrs. Altmann and Bernard, Assistant Secretaries Mr. Hackley, General Counsel Mr. O'Connell, Assistant General Counsel Mr. Partee, Senior Economist Mr. Axilrod, Economist (Domestic Finance) Messrs. Bryant, Eisenmenger, Garvy, Gramley, Hersey, Reynolds,./ Scheld, and Sims, Associate Economists 1/ Attended Tuesday session only. 3/19/73 Mr. Holmes, Manager, System Open Market Account Mr. Coombs, Special Manager, System Open Market Account Mr. Melnicoff,1/ Deputy Executive Director, Board of Governors Mr. O'Brien, Special Assistant to the Board of Governors Messrs. Keir, Pierce, Wernick, and Williams, Advisers, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mr. Gemmill, Adviser, Division of International Finance, Board of Governors Mr. Zeisel,1/ Associate Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mr. Kichline,1/ Chief, Capital Markets Section, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mr. Wendel, Chief, Government Finance Section, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mr. Enzler,1 / Economist, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors Mrs. Rehanek, Open Market Secretariat Assistant, Office of the Secretary, Board of Governors Mrs. Sherman,2/ Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Board of Governors Messrs. Black and Fossum, First Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta, respectively Messrs. Boehne, Parthemos, and Doll, Senior Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia, Richmond, and Kansas City, respectively Messrs. Hocter, Jordan, and Green, Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, St. Louis, and Dallas. respectively 1/ Attended Monday session only. 2/ Attended Tuesday session only. 3/19-20/73 Mr. Meek, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Mr. Kareken, Economic Adviser, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 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, 1973; that it appeared that such persons were legally qualified to serve; and that they had executed their oaths of office. The elected members and alternates were as follows: Frank E. Morris, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, with David P. Eastburn, President of the Federal 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; Robert P. Mayo, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, with Willis J. Winn, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, as alternate; Darryl R. Francis, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, with Monroe Kimbrel, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, as alternate; John J. Balles, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, with George H. Clay, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, as alternate. Secretary's Note: All of the actions listed below were taken on Tuesday, March 20, 1973. By unanimous vote, the following officers of the Federal Open Market Committee were elected to serve until the election of 3/20/73 their successors at the first meeting of the Committee after February 28, 1974, 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 Murray Altmann and Normand R. V. Bernard Howard H. Hackley Thomas J. O'Connell J. Charles Partee Stephen H. Axilrod Robert Solomon 1/ Leonall C. Andersen, Ralph C. Bryant, Robert W. Eisenmenger, George Garvy, Lyle E. Gramley, A. B. Hersey, John E. Reynolds, Karl A. Scheld, and Kent 0. Sims Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Deputy Secretary Assistant Secretaries General Counsel Assistant General Counsel Senior Economist Economist (Domestic Finance) Economist (International Finance) 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 28, 1974. By unanimous vote, Section 5 of the Committee's Rules of Organization was amended to read as follows: 1/ On leave of absence. 3/20/73 -5 Manager, Special Manager, and Deputies The Committee selects a Manager of the System Open Market Account and a Special Manager for Foreign Currency Operations for such Account, and it may also select a Deputy Manager and a Deputy Special Manager for foreign currency operations. All of the foregoing shall be satisfactory to the Federal Reserve Bank selected by the Committee to execute open market transactions for such Account, and all shall serve at the pleasure of the Committee. The Manager and Special Manager, or their Deputies, keep the Committee informed on market conditions and on transactions they have made and render such reports as the Committee may specify. By unanimous vote, Alan R. Holmes, Peter D. Sternlight, Charles A. Coombs, and David E. Bodner were selected to serve at the pleasure of the Federal Open Market Committee as Manager, Deputy Manager, Special Manager for foreign currency operations, and Deputy Special Manager for foreign currency operations, respectively, of the System Open Market Account, it being under stood that their selection was subject to their being satisfactory to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Secretary's Note: Advice subsequently was received that Messrs. Holmes, Sternlight, Coombs, and Bodner were satisfactory to the Board of 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 on January 16, 1973, were approved. The memorandum of discussion for the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on January 16, 1973, was accepted. 3/20/73 By unanimous vote, the System open market transactions in foreign currencies during the period February 13 through March 19, 1973, were approved, ratified, and confirmed. By unanimous vote, renewal for further periods of 3 months of the two System drawings on the National Bank of Belgium maturing on April 19 and 26, 1973, was authorized. By unanimous vote, the Committee authorized the Special Manager to undertake negotiations looking toward increases in System swap lines not exceeding $6 billion in the aggregate, on the understanding that increases in individual swap lines, and the corresponding amendments to paragraph 2 of the authorization for System foreign currency operations, would become effective upon approval by Chairman Burns, after consultation with responsible officials of the U.S. Treasury; and on the further understanding that any increases made effective would not be drawn on until after further consultation with the Committee. By unanimous vote, the open market transactions in Government securities, agency obligations, and bankers' accep tances during the period February 13 through March 19, 1973, were approved, ratified, and confirmed. By unanimous vote, the action of Committee members on March 15, 1973, increasing the limit specified in paragraph 1(a) of the continuing authority directive on changes between meetings 3/20/73 of the Committee in System holdings of U.S. Government securities and agency issues from $2 billion to $3 billion for the period through the close of business March 20, 1973, was ratified. By unanimous vote, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was authorized and directed, until otherwise directed by the Committee, to execute transactions for the System Account in accordance with the following current economic policy directive (later in this meeting retitled "domestic policy directive"): The information reviewed at this meeting suggests continued substantial growth in real output of goods and services in the current quarter, although at a rate less rapid than in the fourth quarter of 1972. Over the first 2 months of this year, employment rose strongly but the unemployment rate remained about 5 per cent. The advance in wage rates moderated from the earlier rapid pace, while the rate of increase in prices accelerated. Prices of foods continued to rise sharply both at wholesale and retail; in February, moreover, increases in wholesale prices of industrial commodities were large and widespread. Another wave of speculative movements out of dollars into German marks and some other currencies developed at the beginning of March and led to a decision by a number of European countries to float their currencies jointly. On March 16, after a series of meetings, officials of leading industrial countries announced a program aimed at maintaining orderly international monetary arrangements. The narrowly defined money stock expanded moderately in February, after having changed little in January, and growth over recent months remained at an average annual rate of about 6.5 per cent. The more broadly defined money stock continued to grow at a moderate rate in February as inflows of consumer-type time and savings deposits to banks slowed sharply. However, in the face of strong loan demand from businesses, and also from 3/20/73 foreign banks, U.S. banks sharply increased their issuance of large-denomination CD's and the bank credit proxy expanded very rapidly. In recent weeks short-term market interest rates have risen substan tially further while the rise in long-term rates has remained more moderate. In light of the foregoing developments, it is the policy of the Federal Open Market Committee to foster financial conditions consonant with the aims of the economic stabilization program, including abatement of inflationary pressures, sustainable growth in real output and employment, and progress toward equilibrium in the country's balance of payments. To implement this policy, while taking account of possible domestic credit market and international developments, the Committee seeks to achieve bank reserve and money market conditions that will support somewhat slower growth in monetary aggregates over the months ahead than occurred on average in the past 6 months. Consideration was then given to the continuing authori zations of the Committee, in accordance with the customary practice of reviewing such matters at the first meeting in March of every year. It had been agreed at Secretary's Note: the meeting on March 10, 1970, that certain authorizations 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 an opportunity to raise any questions they had concerning them. 3/20/73 Accordingly, copies of the authorizations in question (listed below) had been dis tributed to the Committee on February 21, 1973, with a request that 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 to retain the existing procedure for making minutes and other records of the Committee available to employees of the Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks, including authorization to 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 having access to Committee minutes and other records. By unanimous vote, the Continuing Authority Directive with respect to Domestic Open Market Operations was retitled "Authorization for Domestic Open Market Operations," amended to read as follows: and was 3/20/73 -10- AUTHORIZATION FOR DOMESTIC OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS 1. 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 domes tic policy directive adopted at a meeting of the Committee: (a) To buy or sell U.S. Government securities and securities that are direct obligations of, or fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, any agency of the United States in the open market, from or to securities dealers and foreign and international accounts maintained at 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 and Federal agency securities with the Treasury or the individual agencies or to allow them to mature without replace ment; provided that the aggregate amount of U.S. Government and Federal agency 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 domestic 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; prime bankers' accep (b) To buy or sell tances of the kinds designated in the Regula tion 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 market discount rates; provided that the aggregate amount of bankers' acceptances held at any one time shall not exceed (1) $125 million or (2) 10 per cent of the total of bankers' acceptances 3/20/73 -11- outstanding as shown in the most recent accep tance 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 inter est 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 that, unless otherwise expressly autho rized by the Committee, shall be determined by competitive bidding, after applying reasonable limitations on the volume of agreements with individual dealers; 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 mar ket 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. 2. The Federal Open Market Committee authorizes and 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 desirable, 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. 3/20/73 -12- 3. In order to insure the effective conduct of open market operations, the Federal Open Market Committee autho rizes 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 par ticipating 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 "current economic policy directive" was retitled "domestic policy directive." By unanimous vote, the Authorization for System Foreign Currency Operations was retitled "Authorization for Foreign Currency Operations" and was amended to read as follows: AUTHORIZATION FOR 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 3/20/73 -13- 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 fill other forward commitments; (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: Commitments to deliver foreign (1) currencies to the Stabilization Fund, up to the limit specified in paragraph 1B(1) above; and Other forward commitments to (2) 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 3/20/73 -14- 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 the 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: Foreign bank Amount of arrangement (millions of dollars equivalent) Austrian National Bank National Bank of Belgium 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 Netherlands Bank Bank of Norway Bank of Sweden Swiss National Bank Bank for International Settlements: Dollars against Swiss francs Dollars against authorized European currencies other than Swiss francs 200 600 1,000 200 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,250 1,000 130 300 200 250 1,000 600 1,000 Currencies to be used for liquidation of System 3. 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 3/20/73 -15- 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 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 investments shall be in accordance with Section 14(e) of the Federal Reserve Act. 6. The Subcommittee named in Section 272.4(c) of the Committee's rules of procedure 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 Chair man 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 3/20/73 -16- C. From time to time, to transmit appropriate reports and information to the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. 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 Relation ships of Federal Reserve Banks dated January 1, 1944. By unanimous vote, the foreign currency directive was amended to read as follows: 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 E. To facilitate growth in international liquidity in accordance with the needs of an expanding world economy. 3/20/73 -17- 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 fluctuations (1) are deemed to reflect transitional market unsettle ment or other temporary forces and therefore are expected to be reversed in the foreseeable future; and (2) are deemed to be disequilibrating or otherwise to have potentially destabilizing 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, in an emergency, with the members of the Subcommittee designated for that purpose in paragraph 6 of the Authorization for Foreign Currency Operations; and -18- 3/20/73 D. To adjust System balances within the limits established in the Authorization for 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 transactions, 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 arrange ments, and to facilitate operations of the Stabilization Fund; (v) to facilitate the use of one currency for the settlement of System or Treasury commitments denominated in other currencies; and (vi) to provide cover for System holdings of foreign currencies. It was agreed that the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee would be held on Tuesday, April 17, 1973, at 9:30 a.m. The meeting adjourned. Secretary

Federal Reserve (1973, March 19). FOMC Minutes. Fomc Minutes, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/fomc_minutes_19730320

@misc{wtfs_fomc_minutes_19730320,
  author = {Federal Reserve},
  title = {FOMC Minutes},
  year = {1973},
  month = {Mar},
  howpublished = {Fomc Minutes, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/fomc_minutes_19730320},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}