Alpha Exchange Robert Kaplan, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs, and former President of the Dallas Fed
Apr 13, 2026
Rob Kaplan, former Dallas Fed president and current Goldman Sachs vice chairman, blends central-bank experience with market instincts. He reflects on steering policy through liftoff and COVID. The conversation covers limits of monetary policy, long-term structural forces like demographics and debt, shifting Treasury dynamics, regulation and private credit risks, and how AI and geopolitics reshape corporate and financial risk.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Avoid Firm Forward Guidance During Big Fiscal Shocks
- Avoid firm forward commitments on future policy when large fiscal stimulus is imminent.
- Kaplan dissented in fall 2020 because he feared pledging rates at zero plus bond buying would over-accommodate amid massive fiscal spending.
Raise The Bar For Using The Fed Balance Sheet
- Kaplan says the Fed has three roles: regulator, supervisor, and balance sheet manager, and the bar for using the balance sheet should be very high.
- He warns QE outside true emergencies distorts markets and should be coordinated with Treasury.
Long End Moves By Treasury Demand Not Fed
- The long end of the Treasury curve is increasingly driven by supply and demand, not Fed actions.
- Kaplan notes 175 bps of cuts since Sept 2024 barely moved the 10-year, showing detachment from Fed policy.