《Federal Advisory Council and Board of Governors on Bitcoin》.pdf

RECORD OF MEETING Federal Advisory Council and Board of Governors Friday, May 9, 2014 Item 1: Current Banking Market Conditions What is the Council’s view of the current condition of, and the outlook for, loan markets and financial markets generally? • Improving news on consumer demand and unemployment, as well as improved balance sheets, is fueling consumer optimism, but confidence among small business owners has been slower to recover. A modest increase in credit demand appears likely through the balance of the year. • Lending capacity currently exceeds qualified demand, leading to continued pressure on pricing and structure across most markets and customer segments. Notably, credit availability for homebuilders, an area of recent weakness, is predominantly limited to larger national builders. • The Fed’s measured approach to dialing back the quantitative easing program has been a stabilizing factor domestically while global recovery conditions remain a source of uncertainty. • Overall, our outlook for lending and financial markets remains cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2014. (A) Small Business Lending: Has credit availability for, and demand for credit from, small businesses changed significantly recently? Have there been changes in lending standards for these borrowers? • While members observe positive momentum among small business customers, it is still a growth-challenged lending segment, especially as compared to consumer and commercial lending. Core business lending to support working asset growth is up, while loan requests to support real estate activities remain muted and uneven across markets. • Competitors (bank and nonbank) are aggressively seeking the most qualified borrowers. • Small business lending standar