The Federal Reserve Board established the Office of Financial Stability Policy and Research Thursday to develop and coordinate staff efforts toward gaining financial stability. “The financial stability team will play an important role in implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, in our oversight of systemically important financial institutions, and in our overall surveillance of the financial markets and the economy,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said. The Office of Financial Stability Policy and Research will act as a behind-the-scenes entity, analyzing stability policy, following developments at key market institutions and monitoring asset prices, leverage, financial flows and other risk indicators. The office’s first director is J. Nellie Liang, a current Federal Reserve Board economist. Liang joined the board in 1986, acting most recently as a senior associate director in the Division of Research and Statistics. She was also a key player in bank stress tests. The Office of Financial Stability Policy and Research is one of many entities with a focus on financial stability. The Financial Stability Oversight Board was established under the Treasury in 2008 to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In July, the Dodd-Frank Act mandated the creation of a Financial Stability Oversight Council to identify economic risks and emerging threats to the country’s financial system. Write to Christine Ricciardi.