The Latest: Yellen: Fed will monitor banks, controls

WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest on the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, which ended at 2 p.m. with the release of a policy statement, followed by a news conference by Chair Janet Yellen (all times are Eastern):

Fed Chair Janet Yellen says Fed officials have been "distressed" to see banks only addressing problems of employee misconduct after they crop up, rather than having solid procedures in place to ensure that employees act "in an ethical and appropriate manner."

Yellen was responding to questions about the scandal at Wells Fargo over bank employees allegedly opening millions of unauthorized accounts to meet sales quotas.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen struck back at claims by Donald Trump that the U.S. central bank simply follows the wishes of President Obama.

Steady job gains have pulled discouraged workers back into the job market, such that the unemployment rate has held steady at 4.9 percent in recent months despite a relatively robust period of hiring.

Fed policymakers also forecast that inflation will nearly reach its 2 percent target next year and remain 2 percent in 2018 and 2019.

Federal Reserve policymakers still expect to raise their key short-term interest rate once this year, possibly at their meeting in December.

Fed officials concluded that economic growth is improving after an anemic first half of the year, job gains are approaching an apex and inflation remains low.

[...] in a statement after their Wednesday meeting, the majority of Fed officials chose "to wait for further evidence of continued progress."

[...] Kansas City Fed President Esther George, who also dissented after the July meeting, was joined this time by Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren in calling for an increase to the short-term federal funds rate.

[...] last December, the rate had been near zero.

Fed committee members meet again in November and December, with the marke