Yellen defends Basel co-operation before Congress

Fed chair rebuffs Republican lawmaker; dodges question on delaying VM rule

Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen

Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen defended US participation in international standard-setting bodies in a series of ill-tempered exchanges at a hearing before the House Committee on Financial Services earlier today (February 15).

The dispute stemmed from an incendiary one-page letter that Republican representative Patrick McHenry, vice-chairman of the committee, sent to Yellen on January 31, in which he criticised the Fed’s co-operation with global regulatory bodies, such as the Basel Committe