Raphael Bostic shares insights from turbulence in the economy to meetings with ordinary Americans about the financial system.
Jeff Sprecher (left), CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, speaks with Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, during a Rotary Club of Atlanta meeting on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. Bostic will retire at the end of February. (Ben Gray for the AJC)
The past eight years and eight months as president of the Atlanta Fed have been the highlight of my professional career.
To be sure, it’s been hectic and challenging. I’ve had to worry about virtually everything — and everything has happened:
- Initially, a slow-growing economy and inflation that was too low for nearly a decade.
- The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns of swaths of the economy, resulting in the loss of 22 million jobs in two months.
- Kinks in global supply chains, a vigorous economic rebound and the biggest burst of inflation in 40 years.
- Wars in Europe and the Middle East.
- The onrush of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
- U.S.-instigated disruptions of long-standing trade relationships and heightened policy uncertainty.
- And, finally, attacks on the Fed’s independence to make monetary policy.
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Visits across the Southeast yielded fascinating insights
Raphael Bostic will serve as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta through the end of February. (Stephen Nowland/Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)
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