Bullard Says Yellen Successor Should Hold More Press Conferences

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Janet Yellen’s successor should consider holding press conference after every policy meeting, if she isn’t picked for a second term at the helm of the U.S. central bank.

“Chair Yellen has had an opportunity to make a decision on this. She’s obviously sticking with the quarterly press conference, but I think this is a very big issue for a new chair,” Bullard told Kathleen Hays in an interview on Bloomberg Radio Wednesday.

“Obviously, she’s in the running for reappointment. But if it is a new chair, I think that person should think about” having a press conference at every meeting, he said.

President Donald Trump says Yellen is in contention for a second term when her current spell as chair expires in February, as well as his chief economic aide and former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President Gary Cohn. Economists polled by Bloomberg view Cohn as the leading candidate to replace her, with Yellen in second place for the pick.

Yellen’s predecessor Ben Bernanke began the practice of holding a press conference after every other gathering of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which holds eight scheduled meetings a year. Yellen frequently argues that every meeting is live for policy action, but Bullard has long advocated for a shift to more press conferences.

“That will free up the committee to be able to make important decisions when the data dictates as opposed to just four times a year when we have a press conference,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Steve Matthews in Atlanta at smatthews@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull in Washington at abull7@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor