Warsh suggested that the Fed might reduce the number of meetings on interest rates

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has suggested the possibility of changing the frequency of the U.S. central bank’s regular monetary policy meetings, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. On July 31, The New York Times also reported on Warsh’s idea to change the meeting schedule.

According to the agency’s sources, Warsh raised the issue of changing the Fed’s meeting schedule at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on July 29. One of Bloomberg’s sources said that Warsh proposed that Fed officials meet six times a year to make decisions on interest rates and other aspects of monetary policy, and twice more to discuss fundamental economic issues. No final decision has been made yet, Bloomberg reports.

Currently, the 12-member FOMC meets in Washington eight times a year to set interest rates. This practice has been in place since the early 1980s. Reducing the number of monetary policy meetings would represent a significant change in the central bank’s operating procedures, notes Bloomberg.

According to one source, last week’s discussion also addressed how best to synchronize the monetary policy decision-making schedule with the release of key macroeconomic data and other information in order to improve the overall process’s effectiveness.

A Federal Reserve spokesperson declined to comment.

The move to revise the schedule of meetings underscores how Warsh, who took the helm of the regulator in May after being nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump, intends to change the Fed’s approach to monetary policy-making and data analysis, Bloomberg notes. After taking office, Warsh raised the possibility of reducing the number of press conferences and significantly shortened the text of the Fed chair’s post-meeting statement. In July, the new Fed chair also announced the creation of five working groups to explore possible changes to the Fed’s operations—ranging from communication strategies and managing expectations regarding the central bank’s decisions to managing the Fed’s balance sheet.

The FOMC has already approved the meeting schedule for the remainder of 2026—meetings are scheduled for September, October, and December—as well as for 2027. “Each meeting date is tentative until it is confirmed at the meeting immediately preceding it,” the regulator’s website states. This disclaimer was in place long before Warsh was appointed Fed chair, Bloomberg notes.

At the Fed's latest meeting last week, the central bank left the interest rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive time.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor