[Cue: exploding heads] Fed Res Board Governor says save the banks, quit sweatin' the climate change

(AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

Let’s just get the obligatory guilt trip out of the way before we even get going, shall we? Ritual cleansing, as it were.

HOW DARE WE?!

Greta Thunberg
AP Photo/Jason DeCrow
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Okay. Now that’s over, let’s get to the good stuff.

Contrary to the absolute dolt running the Treasury Department of the United States…

…and the acolytes of similar small intelligence and financial acumen she’s managed to place in very high positions…

…lately to ruinous effect…

…there are still good people of common sense and plain speaking within those institutions. Who, when push comes to shove off an economic ideological cliff, will speak in measured but no uncertain terms to hold the lemmings back.

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One such individual is Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller. He gave a speech today at an economic conference in Spain that has heads both nodding in agreement and exploding along with multiple tooth cracks from frenzied gnashing.

It was laden with absolute pearls of forthright speech and what used to be known as “a level head”

Climate change does not pose such “significantly unique or material” financial stability risks that the Federal Reserve should treat it separately in its supervision of the financial system, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday in a detailed rebuttal of demands for climate initiatives by the U.S. central bank.

Climate change is real, but I do not believe it poses a serious risk to the safety and soundness of large banks or the financial stability of the United States,” Waller told an economic conference in Spain. “Risks are risks … My job is to make sure that the financial system is resilient to a range of risks. And I believe risks posed by climate change are not sufficiently unique or material to merit special treatment.”

The aim of Fed oversight and stress tests of bank balance sheets, he said, was “general resiliency, recognizing that we can’t predict, prioritize, and tailor specific policy around each and every shock that could occur.”

“In March we watched a bank run on Silicon Valley Bank” that heightened attention to the levels of uninsured deposits at some institutions, Waller said. “Those are the kinds of things I am staring at right now. I am not as worried about climate as I am about things like banks failing because of bank runs.”

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Clutch your hankies and go for the smelling salts.

She needs a fire extinguisher for her hair.

Tyler over at ZeroHedge called it a “bombshell” and I’m figuring that’s only because someone had the nerve to say the words out loud in the current…ahem…climate.

This will not go down well with the climate alarmists and ESG grifters…

No lesser mortal than Fed Governor Christopher Waller has dared to proclaim that climate change does not pose such “significantly unique or material” financial stability risks that the Federal Reserve should treat it separately in its supervision of the financial system.

The entire speech is here if you have the time – it’s not terribly long, but a sobering read, as you’d expect a money guy’s speech to be. It’s very measured and acknowledges Guam could tip over or Barack Obama’s seaside mansion sink away under the waves sometime in the distant future, sure. But it’s not happening tomorrow and banks are failing yesterday. “Focus, people, on now” is the message.

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The Fed is not in the climate policy business.

…So where does that leave us? I don’t see a need for special treatment for climate-related risks in our financial stability monitoring and policies. As policymakers, we must balance the broad set of risks we face, and we have a responsibility to prioritize using evidence and analysis. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I believe that placing an outsized focus on climate-related risks is not needed, and the Federal Reserve should focus on more near-term and material risks in keeping with our mandate.

That’s nice.

Shame they can’t talk to the DoD.

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Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 20, 2024
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