“Paying interest on reserve balances enables the Fed to break the strong link between the quantity of reserves and the level of the federal funds rate and, in turn, allows the Federal Reserve to control short-term interest rates when reserves are plentiful.”

American economist

Janet Yellen is an American economist and public official, known for serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury from 2021 to 2025 and as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She was the first woman to hold either post. She has also led the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Yellen is professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where she joined the faculty in 1980 and held the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen professorship in business administration and economics. Her career is closely tied to economic policy, central banking, and academic economics.