Mohamed A. El-Erian , Columnist

Fed Needs to Do More Than Raise Interest Rates

The central bank must make progress on four critical issues to regain credibility and stabilize the economy.

May 2, 2022 at 9:53 PM UTC

Mohamed A. El-Erian is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former chief executive officer of Pimco, he is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser at Allianz SE; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. He is author of “The Only Game in Town.”

The challenges for the Fed and Jerome Powell go well beyond whether it will raise rates 50 basis points or not.
Photographer: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

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With so many analysts, not to mention market pricing, having settled on a 50-basis-point interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve this week, it would be understandable to assume that it’s a “done deal” when it comes to what the central bank will announce at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday. The situation could not be further from the truth.

Several consequential issues remain for the Fed to make progress on if it wants to transition from being part of the problem of economic and financial malaise to being part of the solution. Here are my top four: