By Ann Saphir

(Reuters] – The directors of three regional Federal Reserve Banks voted in January for an increase of the interest rate commercial banks charge to emergency loans to be charged by a quarter percentage point. Minutes of their discounted rate meeting were released on Tuesday.

After the U.S. central banking officials decided that the Fed should maintain its policy rate at 0-0.25%, two weeks after the rate-hike proposals were made by directors from the St. Louis Feds, Kansas City Feds, and Cleveland Feds, they overturned the decision. In October 2019, the U.S. central banking was decreasing rates and Fed regional banks had split their discount-rate views.

The minutes revealed that Fed Bank directors supported an earlier rate rise “in response to increased inflation or to help maintain economic and financial stability risk risks.” Over twice the Fed’s target of 2% inflation, inflation is running.

The minutes revealed that the directors of the other nine banks wanted the interest rate to remain unchanged in order to help the economy.

The minutes indicated that “a lot of directors” at these banks noted that it could soon be appropriate to remove accommodation, given inflation pressures, and the strong labor market.

Fed policymakers sent a similar message at their January meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that policymakers are “of the mind” to raise interest rates by March.

Fed bank directors do not make policy decisions and they don’t determine the Fed’s interest rates. However, they meet with their Fed presidents regularly to discuss their views.

James Bullard, President of St. Louis Fed, has been one the Fed’s most outspoken voices over recent months. Bullard pushed for 100 basis points in rate hikes at each of three Fed meetings.