Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said she thinks federal monetary policy is having its intended effect.

George was the keynote speaker at a State of the Economy luncheon Jan. 15 hosted by Central Exchange.

George, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee in 2019, has been vocal about raising interest rates in the past. In her speech, she said she thought it was nearing the “proverbial soft landing” where interest rates were neither stimulating nor restraining the economy.

In her economic projections for 2019, George predicted a rise in short-term interest rates and a slowing economy following a year of booming growth. While the GDP has increased steadily (3 percent) and unemployment rates have reached a 50-year low, George foresees a slowdown in the housing and auto sectors of the market. The agricultural and gas and oil sectors have continued to struggle throughout 2018 into 2019, she said.

George also said her projections are entirely “data-driven” and that she’ll be “looking for signals from the economy” when making fiscal decisions throughout the year.

Following her report, George fielded questions from curious attendees on several subjects, such as Social Security, aging demographics, emergent alternate-corporate jobs and projected growth rates for 2019.

Founded in 1914, Federal Reserve Bank has 2,000 employees, 1,000 banking organizations in a 7-state region and corporate locations in Omaha, Denver and Oklahoma City.

Launched in 1980, Central Exchange is a professional community that promotes equity, empowerment and leadership roles for women. The organization has over 40 corporate partners and more than 850 members.