Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

The latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) paints a more positive picture for higher education enrollment than initially reported. Revised data shows a 4.5% increase in overall undergraduate enrollment, with freshman enrollment up 5.5%. Notably, older students (21+) saw the strongest growth, especially at for-profit institutions. Despite FAFSA challenges, many students continued their college journey. Read more in this article from Laura Ullrich, director of the Richmond Fed’s Community College Initiative: https://bit.ly/43eeYdd

Prior to the 1980s, U.S. banks faced restrictions on where they could open branches, which essentially confined them to their home states. Subsequent deregulation over the next two decades eliminated these restrictions, drastically changing the landscape of the banking industry. Some banks grew rapidly, while many others exited the market due to either competitive forces or consolidation. Learn more about how banks choose to place branches and the impact of geographic deregulation in this Economic Brief by Lindsay Li and Nicholas Trachter: https://bit.ly/40U45Kv

Based on the Richmond Fed's monthly business surveys, firms in our Fifth District, which includes the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, most of West Virginia and Washington, D.C., were significantly more optimistic going into 2025, both for their own firms and for the U.S. economy. In this Regional Matters, our blog that examines local, regional and national data that matter to the Fifth District economy and our communities, Survey Director Jason Kosakow highlights these survey responses, including firms' concerns despite their optimism. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/40n5qdJ #RegionalMatters #BusinessSurveys

Registration is open for the Economic Mobility Summit! The Economic Mobility Summit will bring together business and community leaders, policymakers, researchers, nonprofit leaders and philanthropists, and workforce and community development practitioners to advance a national conversation about the economic imperative of upward mobility. Through research and discussion, the two-day event will demonstrate the importance of improving economic opportunity and mobility in communities and regions to the U.S. economy, identify ways to advance research into actionable strategies, and elevate best practices for cross-sector collaboration. Attendees will take away ideas and opportunities to strengthen economic mobility within their regions. Sessions will be designed to leverage peer learning and research for advancing economic mobility through community-led partnerships. Register TODAY to save your spot. Additional details coming soon: https://cvent.me/1e01q3 Partnering organizations include the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia Foundation, and the Urban Institute. #EconomicMobilitySummit #WorkforceDevelopment #EconomicOpportunity  

The Richmond Fed's monthly business survey from December and fourth quarter data from The CFO Survey suggested that firms were optimistic about their own businesses and the overall economy going into 2025 — but one concern stood out: the potential for additional tariffs on imports. In terms of cost increases passed through to customers, a Virginia industrial equipment supplier reported, "The threat of tariffs on imports could increase our raw material costs and the costs of goods that we wholesale." In this Regional Matters, our blog that examines local, regional and national data that matter to the Fifth District economy and our communities, Zachary Edwards, a research analyst, James Melton, a research associate, and Sonya Waddell, a vice president and economist, highlight what we know about how Fifth District businesses are reacting to the threat of tariffs. Learn more about the survey responses, including how businesses that sourced inputs from abroad were more likely to report concerns about tariffs: https://bit.ly/4aKYPNX #RegionalMatters #BusinessSurveys #InternationalEconomics

Marina Azzimonti, a senior economist and research advisor, joins Speaking of the Economy, the Richmond Fed's podcast, to discuss a recent working paper she co-authored with Nirvana Mitra of Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL). Podcast host and senior economics writer Tim Sablik asks Marina about the cost of borrowing globally over the last few years and the challenges for emerging market economies, among other topics. Listen here to learn more about the broader implications of this trend for emerging markets, especially those that don't have strong governmental institutions: https://bit.ly/416Oojx and to access the working paper, visit: https://bit.ly/4er9I7N #SpeakingoftheEconomy #InternationalEconomics #WorkingPaper

Nearly two years ago, in March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank both failed and become two of the largest bank failures since the Great Recession. Over that same period, however, 22 banks also experienced a run, over 10 times the number of banks that failed. Richmond Fed Research Director Anna Kovner and her co-authors Marco Cipriani and Thomas Eisenbach of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York identified these runs, or "banks with unusually large net payment outflows." Nathan Robino, a research associate, highlights their research which explores the balance sheet characteristics of banks that experienced runs, the dispersion of deposits flowing out of the run banks, and the actions of run banks to avoid failures. Learn about their findings in Research Spotlight of Econ Focus, the Richmond Fed's economics magazine: https://bit.ly/3WIJmrS and for information, read the authors' working paper from September 2024: https://bit.ly/4aMt6Mn #EconFocus #ResearchSpotlight #Financial

New year means new January personal consumption expenditures (PCE). The PCE inflation report for December yielded further evidence of moderate core inflation pressure: Headline PCE rose 0.3 percent month over month, taking the 12-month headline inflation rate to 2.6 percent, while core PCE prices rose only 0.2 percent month over month, leaving the 12-month core inflation rate at 2.8 percent. What does this mean for January? In this week's Macro Minute, the weekly blog that explores the numbers behind the headlines on the national economy, John O'Trakoun, a senior policy economist, and Vinh Phan, a research associate, explore how previous January inflation reports have displayed more volatility compared to inflation readings in other months. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3WLVzfy #MacroMinute #Inflation

Outcomes-based funding, or performance-based funding (PBF) allow a portion of state higher education appropriations to be dispersed based on student success outcomes like completing credits, staying in school, graduating, and landing a job. While the first wave of these funding models did relatively little to incentivize institutions to achieve the state-determined target metrics, the more recent wave of PBF models allow states to integrate performance metrics into base funding formulas rather than including them as bonus incentives. As of 2024, more than 30 states are implementing PBF in some form, while in the Fifth District, only North and South Carolina had PBF allocations in FY2023. However, states in the district and nationwide are exploring policies that tie funding to outcomes in higher education. In this Community College Insights, the series that provides deep-dive analysis and commentary on the latest data, research and policy updates from the Richmond Fed’s Community College Initiative, Katrina Mullen (Spinner-Wilson), a senior managing editor, and Stephanie Norris, associate director of the Community College Initiative explore the landscape of PBF, the appeal of using outcomes to determine funding, as well as challenges to successfully putting theory into practice. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3Eh0oai #CommunityCollegeInsights #Education #StudentSuccessOutcomes #Funding

One of the key roles of the Federal Reserve System is to provide secure, resilient and best-in-class payment services. These payment services are the bedrock of our nation’s economy, benefiting businesses and individuals alike. Federal Reserve Financial Services is an organization within the Federal Reserve responsible for managing critical payment and securities services that foster the accessibility, integrity and efficiency of the U.S. economy. In May, Federal Reserve Financial Services’ FedCash® Services released the annual Diary of Consumer Payment Choice report from its ongoing research into the payment habits of the U.S. population, and Claire Navarro-Silver, MPP recently joined the Noteworthy Podcast to highlight the key takeaways from the report. Listen to the episode: https://bit.ly/4fqoBaZ Interested in exploring the full Diary of Consumer Payment Choice report? Take a look here: https://bit.ly/3NZvrJb