May 18, 1976 FOMC Record of Policy Actions

FOMC minutes

This action was taken to provide information regarding the Committee's policy actions on a more timely basis. Since the majority of meetings are held at 4-week intervals, the delay now will most often be about a month. For the minority of meetings that are followed by a 5-week interval, the delay will be about a week longer. From mid-1967 to early 1975, a delay of approx imately 90 days had been in effect. Prior to mid-1967, when the Committee's Rules Regarding the Availability of Information were changed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act, the records of policy actions were published only in the Board's Annual Report to Congress. In conjunction with the foregoing action, the Committee amended Section 271.5(a) of its Rules Regarding the Availability of Information to delete the sentence reading "For example, the Committee's domestic policy directive adopted at each meeting of the Committee is published in the Federal Register approximately 45 days after the date of its adoption; and no information in the records of the Committee relating to the adoption of any such directive is made available for public

inspection or copying before it is published in the Federal Register or is otherwise released to the public by the Committee." With this amendment, Section 271.5(a) read as follows: (a) Deferred availability of information.- In some instances, certain types of information of the Committee are not published in the Federal Register or made available for public inspection or copying until after such period of time as the Committee may determine to be reasonably necessary to avoid the effects described in paragraph (b) of this section or as may otherwise be necessary to prevent impairment of the effective discharge of the Committee's statutory responsibilities. Votes for this action: Messrs. Burns, Volcker, Balles, Black, Coldwell, Gardner, Jackson, Kimbrel, Partee, Wallich, and Winn. Votes against this action: None. 3. Memorandum of discussion this meeting the Committee approved a motion At that the memorandum of discussion be discontinued after the memorandum for the meeting of March 15-16, 1976. Votes for this action: Messrs. Burns, Volcker, Balles, Black, Gardner, Jackson, Kimbrel, Partee, Wallich, and Winn. Vote against this action: Mr. Coldwell.

This action was taken against the background of the Committee's decision to speed up publication of the records of policy actions, and of its understanding that the policy records would be expanded to include more information concerning members' views on longer-run and current policy. The memoranda of discussion are detailed accounts of proceedings at meetings of the Committee, which have been available to the public 5 years after the end of the year to which they apply. The decision to discontinue these memoranda reflected the Committee's judgment that the benefits derived from them did not justify their relatively high cost, particularly in light of the changes being made in the policy record. Mr. Coldwell dissented from this action because he felt that the benefits of the memorandum of discussion justified its retention. 4. Foreign currency operations On June 6, following consultations among members of the Foreign Currency Subcommittee of the Federal Open Committee, the System agreed that it would stand Market

ready to make available $1 billion to the Bank of England under the existing reciprocal currency arrangement with that Bank. At the same time, the Treasury Department, through the Exchange Stabilization Fund, agreed that it would stand ready to make available $1 billion under a swap arrangement with the Bank of England. The System and the Treasury participated with central banks of other Group of Ten countries, Switzerland, and the Bank for International Settlements in making avail able to the Bank of England standby credits totalling $5.3 billion. Those arrangements were made in the light of the recent fall in the value of the pound sterling under exchange market pressures that had led to disorderly market conditions, and in the common interest in the stability and efficient functioning of the international monetary system.