Minnesota Housing Chief Tapped For New Federal Reserve Panel

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota agency commissioner will have a voice on a new advisory council of the powerful Federal Reserve Board.

Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner Mary Tingerthal was appointed Tuesday to a 15-member panel that will offer input on how federal monetary policy affects the needs of low- and middle-income consumers. The Federal Reserve is best known for setting interest rates that have bearings on monthly mortgage payments and savings account earnings.

Tingerthal says the panel will offer on-the-ground perspectives about affordability, vacancy rates, ownership stability and ethnic disparities in housing. The Community Advisory Council will meet twice per year.