Fed Weighs Cutting Regular FOMC Meetings to Six From Eight a Year

The Federal Reserve is considering reducing the number of regular Federal Open Market Committee meetings to six a year from eight, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg reported on August 2 that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh proposed at last week's FOMC meeting a review of both the monetary policy decision-making process and the committee's meeting schedule.

One option under discussion would reduce the number of regular meetings that set the benchmark interest rate and determine monetary policy to six a year, while using the other two to discuss broader economic issues. No final decision has been made.

Officials also discussed more closely aligning the timing of monetary policy decisions with the release schedule for major economic data to improve the efficiency of policy deliberations.

The Fed has held eight regular FOMC meetings a year to set interest rates since the early 1980s. Any reduction would mark a major change to a monetary policy framework that has been in place for decades.

Since taking office in May, Warsh has been pursuing a broader overhaul of the Fed's operations. He is considering reducing the number of press conferences and simplifying FOMC statements. He has also set up five task forces to review areas including the Fed's external communications and balance-sheet operations.

The FOMC is scheduled to hold its remaining meetings this year in September, October and December, and the Fed has already published its 2027 meeting calendar. Under its rules, however, the central bank can also convene unscheduled meetings at the request of the chair or committee members when needed. It did so in 2020, when it held emergency meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic to make monetary policy decisions.