Richard Berner, Director of the Treasury's OFR, Testifies on the Accomplishments of the OFR (with Lofchie Comment)

Richard Berner, Director of the Office of Financial Research (OFR), testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding the OFR's recent activities and its role in supporting the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). In surveying the OFR's activities, Director Berner stated that the OFR has made "significant progress" in fulfilling its data and research responsibilities. Additionally, Director Berner outlined steps that the OFR has taken to address the concerns raised by the GAO in its September 2012 report, including by improving communication with the public, finalizing a set of performance measures for the OFR's strategic goals, and by improving coordination with FSOC.

Lofchie Comment: The testimony was largely in response to GAO's 2012 report on the OFR, even though the GAO has issued a more recent report on the OFR (see news story below).

Click here to view speech in full (links externally to FDIC website).Related News: "GAO Finds FSOC and OFR to Be Well-Intentioned (with Two Lofchie Comments)" (March 14, 2013) and "FSOC and OFR Should Strengthen the Accountability and Transparency of Their Decisions (GAO Report)" (Sept. 14, 2013).