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The year 2009 was a busy one for the Federal Reserve, which was still in crisis-mode trying to steady turbulent financial markets after the upheaval of late 2008. As the Fed releases full transcripts of its Federal Open Market Committee meetings that year –three unscheduled meetings, in addition to the eight regularly scheduled ones—we provide here a timeline of major Fed events to refresh the memory. This includes the FOMC meetings, major Fed policy actions in response to the crisis and key speeches and testimony by then-Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. We include links to the original material and in many cases The Wall Street Journal’s coverage.

Jan. 13

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “The Crisis and the Policy Response”

Jan. 16

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting, unscheduled, via conference call (Minutes)

• Fed, Treasury, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announce assistance package for Bank of America (WSJ: “BofA’s Latest Hit“)

Jan. 27-28

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed Weighs Idea of Buying Treasuries as Focus Shifts“)

Feb. 7

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting, unscheduled, via conference call (Minutes)

Feb. 10

• Fed says it is prepared to expand the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before House Financial Services Committee

Feb. 18

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Federal Reserve Policies to Ease Credit and Their Implications for the Fed’s Balance Sheet”

Feb. 23

• Fed, Treasury, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision announce the U.S. government “stands firmly behind the banking system”

Feb. 24

• Mr. Bernanke presents the Fed’s Monetary Policy Report to the Senate Banking Committee

Feb. 25

• Mr. Bernanke presents the Fed’s Monetary Policy Report to the House Financial Services Committee

• Fed, FDIC, OCC and OTS announce they will conduct stress tests of big banks

March 3

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before the Senate Budget Committee

March 10

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Financial Reform to Address Systemic Risk” (WSJ: “Bernanke Calls for Broader Regulations“)

March 15

• Mr. Bernanke, in an interview aired on CBS’s ”60 Minutes,” says he sees some “green shoots” in the U.S. economy. (WSJ: “Bernanke Defends Recovery Efforts in Rare TV Interview“)

March 17-18

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed in Bond-Buying Binge to Spur Growth)

March 20

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “The Financial Crisis and Community Banking”

March 24

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before the House Finance Services Committee on AIG

April 1

• Mr. Bernanke and New York Fed President William Dudley respond to questions from Elizabeth Warren, then chair of a congressional oversight panel, about the TALF program

April 3

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet”

April 6

• The Fed announces new swap lines with the Bank of England, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank

April 14

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Four Questions about the Financial Crisis”

April 17

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Financial Innovation and Consumer Protection”

April 28-29

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed Signals Its Intention to Stay the Course“)

May 5

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before Congress’s Joint Economic Committee

May 7

• Fed releases bank stress test results (WSJ: Banks Need at Least $65 Billion in Capital“)

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Lessons of the Financial Crisis for Banking Supervision”

May 11

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program”

June 3

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting, unscheduled, via conference call (Minutes)

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before the House Budget Committee

June 23-24

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed on Hold as Slump Eases“)

June 25

• Mr. Bernanke testifies on Merrill Lynch and Bank of America before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

• Fed extends and modifies several of its liquidity programs

July 21

• Mr. Bernanke presents the Fed’s Monetary Policy Report to the House Financial Services Committee

July 22

• Mr. Bernanke presents the Monetary Policy Report to the Senate Banking Committee

July 24

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee

Aug. 11-12

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed Set to Trim Major Lifeline“)

Aug. 21

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., “Reflections on a Year of Crisis” (WSJ: “Central Bankers Breathing Easier“)

Aug. 25

• President Barack Obama nominates Mr. Bernanke for second term as Fed chairman (WSJ: “Calm in Crisis Won Fed Job“)

Sept. 22-23

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, Minutes, WSJ: “Home Buyers Get a Reprieve”

Oct. 1

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee

Oct. 8

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet: An Update”

Oct. 19

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Asia and the Global Financial Crisis”

Oct. 23

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech “Financial Regulation and Supervision after the Crisis: The Role of the Federal Reserve”

Nov. 3-4

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed to Keep Rates Low Despite Pickup”

Nov. 16

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “On the Outlook for the Economy and Policy”

Dec. 3

• Mr. Bernanke testifies before the Senate Banking Committee at his confirmation hearing for a second term as chairman

Dec. 7

• Mr. Bernanke delivers a speech, “Frequently Asked Questions”

Dec. 15-16

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Statement, minutes, WSJ: “Fed More Upbeat, But Keeps Lid on Rates“)

Dec. 16

• Time magazine names Mr. Bernanke its Person of the Year

 

 

Related reading:

Fed’s Yellen Fretted Over Weak Recovery in 2009, Transcripts Show

Five Takeaways from the 2009 Fed Transcripts

Live Tour: The Federal Reserve’s 2009 Transcripts

Six Charts That Tell the Story of the Unfathomably Bleak Economy the Fed Faced in 2009

The 2009 FOMC Laugh Track: Fed Humor in a Bleak Economic Year

Bernanke Guessed Right on Market Reaction to Treasury Bank Plan

Janet Yellen, Forecasting Ace

Who’s Who at the Federal Reserve in 2009

Interactive: Ranking Fed Forecasters

Interactive: Central Bank Watch

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