Widening racial wealth gap in US very disturbing: Yellen

Washington

FEDERAL Reserve chair Janet Yellen called widening wealth disparity between races in the US "extremely disturbing", and warned that it could reshape consumption patterns in the future.

The questions on Wednesday from the House Financial Services Committee to the Fed chair were largely domestic and political, ranging from income inequality to burdensome bank regulation. Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, opened the hearing asking about the Fed's legal authority to pay interest on excess reserves.