Seven Reserve Banks sought September rate rise, Fed minutes show

Seven Federal Reserve Banks had requested a higher primary credit rate before the September 16 decision, according to minutes released by the Fed on October 13. Four banks had sought the increase before the September 9 meeting, when the Board left the rate unchanged.

Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City made the earlier requests. Richmond, Atlanta and Dallas followed before September 16, when the Board approved raising the rate from 3.75 to 4 percent, effective September 17.

This concerns lending to banks. The discount-rate process is separate from the Federal Open Market Committee’s decisions on its federal funds target range. The minutes describe the September decisions; they do not announce another increase.

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