President Joe Biden has pledged that his nominations to the U.S. central bank will bring “new diversity” to the Federal Reserve, which he says “is much needed and long overdue.”
In the Fed’s 107-year history, just three Black Americans have served as a governor on the central bank’s board in Washington. After his naming Monday of Fed Chair
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later
The president’s retention of Powell, a Republican, was a choice for continuity that ignored calls from Biden’s fellow Democrats to bring changes to the central bank.
Of the governors currently serving at the Fed board, all are White and four of the six are men. So he’s under pressure to deliver on his promise to make the central bank look more like the rest of America.
Here are some of the candidates who Fed watchers say could be considered:
Raphael Bostic
He deflected a question about whether he was interested in joining the board while suggesting that he wasn’t talking to the White House at this point,
Bostic has led the Atlanta Fed since 2017. In that role, he’s promoted the goal of a more inclusive economy and urged policy makers to step up efforts to counter systemic racism.
He was previously an economist at the Fed in Washington and served as assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration. His expertise on housing and community development could make him a candidate for vice chair for supervision.
Cecilia Rouse
She previously served in the council under President Barack Obama and in the National Economic Council during the Clinton administration. An economics professor at Princeton since 1992, Rouse has focused research on the labor force and the economics of education, including how student debt can hinder careers.
Roger Ferguson
His background in financial markets, including as former chief executive of pension giant TIAA, would make him a possible fit for vice chair for supervision. Ferguson had been lined up to join private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. but it
Seth Carpenter
Carpenter and his colleagues at Morgan Stanley predicted in an Oct. 27 report that the Fed’s tapering of asset purchases would “proceed as telegraphed,” and that interest-rate increases most likely would be delayed until 2023, contrary to market pricing for hikes in 2022.
William Spriggs
Spriggs published an open letter to his peers two weeks after George Floyd’s death last year, explaining how many economists perpetuate inequality by ignoring race, and the impact of racism, in their research. He has long been involved with labor unions, which Biden has made a key component of his jobs-creation pledges.
Lisa Cook
Cook has dedicated a large part of her career to researching the ways in which economic inequality hampers growth. Her recent research documented racially uneven distribution of Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic.
--With assistance from
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Ana Monteiro
© 2021 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
To read more articles log in.
Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription.