FOMC vote was 9-1 to lower cost of dollar funding (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Federal Open Market Committee's formal vote to lower the cost of dollar funding was 9-1, with Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker the lone dissenter, a Federal Reserve spokesman said Wednesday. The Fed decided to slash the cost of emergency dollar loans to foreign banks as part of a coordinated action with other central banks to prevent Europe's debt crisis from triggering a global liquidity crunch. The FOMC deliberation took place on Monday via video conference, the Fed spokesman said. Lacker is not an FOMC member this year, but was filling in for Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser, who was unable to attend. A spokesman for Lacker had no immediate comment on his vote. Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase, noted that Lacker had voted against swap lines with Canada and Mexico.