Yellen Says Fed Has Made Progress In Changing Bank Culture

The Federal Reserve has made significant progress in changing the culture of excessive risk taking at banks but remains watchful for areas in need of further action, said Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday. In brief prepared remarks to the Institute for New Economic Thinking, Yellen said that regulators have largely addressed distorted incentives facing financial firms that led to the crisis and harmed society. "Unfortunately, in the years preceding the finanicial crisis, all too many firms took on risks they could neither measure nor manage," Yellen said. "I believe that we and other supervisory agencies have made significant progress in addressing incentive problems within the financial sector, especially within the banking sector," Yellen said.