The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates 25 basis points – or 0.25% – amid the banking crisis.
Two US banks recently failed after they were unable to produce enough cash for depositors.
The banking crisis stems from the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates seven times in 2022.
Jerome Powell raised interest rates 450 basis points in 2022 to hedge inflation.
The rate hikes are crushing regional banks but the Fed raised rates again.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) indicated rate hikes are nearing an end.
“The Committee will closely monitor incoming information and assess the implications for monetary policy,” the FOMC’s post-meeting statement said, according to CNBC. “The Committee anticipates that some additional policy firming may be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent over time.“
CNBC reported:
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted a quarter percentage point interest rate increase, expressing caution about the recent banking crisis and indicating that hikes are nearing an end.
Along with its ninth hike since March 2022, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee noted that future increases are not assured and will depend largely on incoming data.
“The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” the committee said. “Recent developments are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses and to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects is uncertain. The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks.“
The increase takes the benchmark federal funds rate to a target range between 4.75%-5%. The rate sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending but feeds through to a multitude of consumer debt like mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
Watch Chairman Powell speak live after the Federal Reserve hiked rates 25 bps:
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