Event Summary
The Honorable Paul A. Volcker delivered a speech, "Essential Elements of Financial Reform," at the Peterson Institute, March 30, 2010. In his speech, he emphasized his proposals to limit the size of US financial institutions in order to minimize the risk of future crises, via what President Obama has called the "Volcker Rule."
Paul Volcker is Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. As Chairman of Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1979–87, he restored price stability in the US economy and played a leading role in correcting the Third World debt problem. During his earlier service as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs, from 1969 until 1974, he negotiated the transition of the international monetary system from the adjustable peg system of Bretton Woods to the regime of flexible exchange rates that largely continues to this day. Mr. Volcker was also President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (1975–79) and Chairman of Wolfensohn and Company after he left public service. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute since 1987.
Event Materials
Interview: Would the Volcker Rule Prevent Banks Too Big to Fail?
Morris Goldstein
February 25, 2010