Johnson was vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for four and a half years beginning in February 1986. While at the Fed, Johnson presided over one of the most stable economic periods in the post-World War II era. His responsibility for international operations and financial crisis management involved him in some of the most dramatic events of the 1980s. Johnson played a key role in preventing systemic economic damage during the stock market crash of October 1987 and in the coordination of international monetary policy by the Group of Ten major industrial countries.