Fed transparency will lead to improved trust

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s commitment to increase the Fed’s transparency and improve its external communications (“Bernanke will hold regular press briefings,” March 24) is commendable insofar as it comes at a time of great skepticism among the public and business sector regarding the government’s ability to manage America’s finances. Beyond the optics of disclosing how and why its decisions are made, the Fed’s effort should help repair its once-stellar reputation. 

In light of a near institutional collapse in Americans’ trust of the financial sector in the wake of the Great Recession, and findings of the 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer showing that trust in American businesses and the U.S. government has fallen precipitously since 2008, the Fed has some ground to make up to restore its reputational credibility.

At a certain point, all businesses, government agencies and financial bodies must realize and accept that we are firmly in the digital age. A commitment to greater transparency should not be viewed as a “nice to have” proposition but a foundational principle for how business and government operate and communicate in America and abroad.

New York

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