Fed President opens review of the American central bank and convenes group with Armínio Fraga

Who are the chosen experts? The group brings together economists, former central bank directors and representatives of the private sector with different views. In addition to Armínio Fraga, former presidents of the central banks of England and India will also participate. Economist Thomas Sargent, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and professor at New York University, will also join the group responsible for discussing inflation. Also among them are Harvard University economics professor Raj Chetty, who will coordinate the group on economic data, and technology investor Marc Andreessen, who will help lead debates on productivity and the labor market. Also on the list is Greg Mankiw, former president of the Council of Economic Advisers under George W. Bush, who will head the inflation task force. "The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the past generation, and never more than now. Each task force will carefully evaluate whether policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools, and policy approaches can be improved," Warsh highlighted. The Fed has not detailed how the groups will work or released an official timeline. At his first press conference after taking command of the institution, however, Warsh said he hoped to receive the recommendations by the end of this year. The five task forces will deal with economic data, inflation, productivity and employment, central bank communication and balance sheet management — a set of assets and liabilities managed by the Fed, used as an instrument to influence the economy. Change reflects priorities of the new president The creation of the groups also marks a change in the way the central bank conducts this type of review. Instead of relying mainly on internal analyses, Warsh chose to bring in experts from outside the institution to evaluate areas considered strategic. Former director of the Fed between 2006 and 2011, Warsh had been advocating changes in the central bank's operations since leaving office. Among his criticisms were the size of the institution's balance sheet, which remains in the trillions of dollars, and the limited use of real-time economic information to guide monetary policy decisions. In recent years, he has also started to advocate that the Fed more quickly incorporate the possible effects of artificial intelligence on productivity and the job market. It is not yet defined what the participation of the seven Fed directors and the 12 presidents of regional banks will be in the discussions conducted by the task forces. The central bank highlighted, however, that the reports will serve as a basis for future decisions. More relevant changes in the way the institution operates must depend on the approval of other directors and, as usually occurs at the Fed, on a broad internal consensus. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during an inauguration ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 22, 2026. File photo. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein