Philadelphia Fed Names Patrick T. Harker as Its Next President and CEO

The board of directors of the Philadelphia Fed has announced that Patrick T. Harker, 56, currently president of the University of Delaware and a member of the Philadelphia Fed's board of directors, has been named the Bank's 11th president and CEO, effective July 1, 2015. Harker, who has served as a nonbanking Class B director of the Philadelphia Fed for the past three years, will succeed Charles I. Plosser, who retired effective March 1, 2015. Read the press release.

Survey: Financial Conditions Stabilize as Job Availability Improves for Low- and Moderate-Income Residents

Responses from 61 service providers to low- and moderate-income households in the region suggest that economic conditions for their clients were stabilizing in the fourth quarter of 2014 relative to the third quarter, according to the Bank’s Fourth Quarter 2014 Community Outlook Survey. This stabilization coincides with the largest reported improvement in job availability since the survey began in 2011. Read the survey.

Regional Activity in Nonmanufacturing Industries Improves in February

Activity in the region's nonmanufacturing sectors increased in February, according to firms responding to this month's Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The diffusion index for current activity at the firm level increased from 8.8 in January to 51.0 this month, its highest reading since June 2014. Read the report.

Read the Latest Business Review

Articles offer postcrisis perspectives: How will stricter rules affect foreign banks operating in the U.S.? What was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's role in the housing bubble and what lies ahead for them? How much did real estate speculation contribute to the housing bust? Download the entire issue.

Manufacturers Indicate Continued Modest Growth in February

Manufacturing growth remained positive but decreased for the third consecutive month, according to firms responding to the latest Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The diffusion index of current activity decreased slightly from 6.3 in January to 5.2 this month. Read the report. Listen to the audio conference.

Forecasters See Unchanged Outlook for Growth, Brighter Outlook for Labor Markets

The outlook for growth over the next three years has changed little from the survey of three months ago, according to 39 participants in the First Quarter Survey of Professional Forecasters. A brighter outlook for the labor market accompanies the nearly stable outlook for growth. Read the report.

Philadelphia Fed Updates Rental Housing Affordability Study

Citing the most recent data available, this issue of Cascade Focus analyzes rental housing affordability trends in the Third Federal Reserve District between 2007 and 2012. The report provides a brief summary of conditions and trends in the Third District and includes in-depth fact sheets for the Third Federal Reserve District, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, 14 metropolitan statistical areas, and the City of Philadelphia. Read the study.

Ninth Biennial Federal Reserve System Community Development Research Conference

The Federal Reserve System Community Development Research Conference, with the theme of Economic Mobility: Research and Ideas on Strengthening Families, Communities, and the Economy, will be held April 2–3 in Washington, D.C. Featured speakers will include Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair, and Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist. View the agenda and register here. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia helps formulate and implement monetary policy, supervises banks and bank holding companies, and provides financial services to depository institutions and the federal government. One of the 12 regional Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank serves eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Learn more about us.