Newsroom

March 16, 2018

This week: FOMC likely to raise rates, Congress works to fund gov't

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins its two-day meeting tomorrow and is widely expected to approve of another quarter-point interest rate hike. The House and Senate are both in session this week with their main priority on funding the government; current funding expires Friday.

Also this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) meets Thursday and on its agenda is a second further notice of proposed rulemaking related to calls made to reassigned numbers. Last year, NAFCU voiced its support for the creation of a reassigned numbers database overseen by the FCC. NAFCU also recently met with the FCC to discuss the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the commission's efforts to target illegal robocalls (read more here).

The FOMC last raised the federal funds target rate by a quarter-point in December to a range of 1.25 to 1.5 percent. While the committee declined to raise rates in January, NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long said February's jobs report kept the Federal Reserve on track to raise rates this month.

Also during the FOMC's December meeting, the committee projected three quarter-point rate hikes this year; however, recent comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicate the possibility of four rate hikes.

While Congress reached a deal to fund the federal government for two years last month, funds have not yet been appropriated to agency projects. The House and Senate this week will work through bills to allocate funds before the Friday deadline.

Congressional hearings of note this week:

Also happening this week:

  • NAFCU's Regulatory Compliance School begins today in Arlington, Va. Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for session coverage and follow #ComplianceSchool on Twitter for updates.
  • Wednesday, NAFCU Services is offering a free webinar on payments audits and risk assessments. Learn more about the webinar and register for it here.
  • Thursday, NAFCU Services is offering a free webinar on loan application review strategies. Learn more about the webinar and register for it here.
  • Thursday, NAFCU is offering a webcast on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Learn more about the webcast and register for it here.