Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

The Federal Reserve Board announced Wednesday the consolidation of two internal advisory committees on payments system matters. The duties of the Payments System Policy Advisory Committee will be expanded to encompass the responsibilities and activities of the Payments System Development Committee, including its public outreach efforts. The Payments System Development Committee will be discontinued.

The Payments System Policy Advisory Committee was formed in July 1986 to advise the Board on a range of issues, including risk-management issues, primarily in wholesale payment and settlement systems, and the relationship between wholesale payment systems and financial markets. The Payments System Development Committee was formed in July 1999 to advise on medium- and long-term public policy issues surrounding innovation in the retail payments system.

The expanded Payments System Policy Advisory Committee will provide the Board with a coordinated view of developments in both wholesale and retail payments at a time of significant overall change in the U.S. payments system and help coordinate Federal Reserve work involving domestic and international payments and settlement systems.

In particular, the committee will advise the Board on:

• The Federal Reserve's Policy on Payments System Risk, which sets forth risk- management expectations that public and private-sector systems should meet and governs the provision of Federal Reserve intraday credit
• The Federal Reserve's oversight of payment and settlement systems under its Policy on Payments System Risk, with a focus on these systems' risk management policies and processes
• The relationship between payment and settlement systems and financial markets, including financial stability issues
• Developments in retail and wholesale payments systems and instruments as well as technological and market trends affecting these developments
• Strategies to foster the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of the U.S. dollar payments system over the long term

The Payments System Policy Advisory Committee will also continue the public outreach activities of the Payments System Development Committee by consulting with payments system providers, participants, and users to identify barriers to greater efficiency and risk reduction in retail and wholesale payments and settlement systems.

The Payments System Policy Advisory Committee will be chaired by Governor Donald L. Kohn. The other members of the committee will be President Timothy F. Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Governor Randall S. Kroszner, President Cathy E. Minehan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, President Michael H. Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, President Gary H. Stern of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Governor Kevin M. Warsh. First Vice President Patrick K. Barron of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta will be a liaison member of the committee.