Fed’s Williams Says Europe Poses Threat to Global Stability

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said Europe posed a “significant threat” to the stability of the global financial system.

“While the global financial system is stronger than it was three years ago, it remains vulnerable,” Williams said in the text of remarks given in San Francisco today. “In the worst case, the European crisis could undermine the financial improvements in North America and Asia.”

Williams added that economic conditions overseas are “deteriorating,” with China undergoing a “marked deceleration.” Europe “looks to be in recession,” he said. Growth in the U.S. remains “moderate,” he said at a forum on Asian banking and finance at the San Francisco Fed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aki Ito in San Francisco at aito16@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net