BANKING & FINANCE - Oct. 20, 1993

Greenspan Defends Fed Secrecy: The secrecy surrounding monetary policy deliberations helps protect financial markets and the economy from speculative shocks, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a congressional hearing. In a rare joint appearance with 15 other senior monetary policy-makers, Greenspan said the central bank cloaks its internal discussions only to the extent necessary. The House Banking Committee is considering legislation that would require the Fed’s key policy-making body, the Federal Open Market Committee, to announce its decisions within a week and release a videotape and a verbatim transcript of its proceedings within 60 days. Currently, the panel releases a summary of its discussions about six weeks after each meeting but it only offers a synopsis of the debate.