Brian Chappatta, Columnist

Ben Bernanke Sounds Tone-Deaf on Negative Interest Rates

The former Fed chairman says to remain open to subzero rates as backlash to the policy intensifies.

January 7, 2020 at 11:00 AM UTC

Brian Chappatta is managing editor of Bloomberg News' leveraged finance and distressed debt teams. He was previously managing editor and team leader of its wealth group. Before that he was a Bloomberg Opinion markets and finance columnist and a bonds reporter for Bloomberg News.

Bernanke’s tacit endorsement of neghative interest rates flies in the face of mounting skepticism. — Bernanke’s tacit endorsement of neghative interest rates flies in the face of mounting skepticism.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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Just when it seemed like the tide had officially turned against the experiment of negative interest rates, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke entered the fray.

In his address to the American Economic Association’s annual meeting from Jan. 3-5, he cautioned against ruling out a subzero fed funds rate in the U.S. Here’s how he summarized it in a blog post: