President Joe Biden will nominate Michael Barr as the supreme regulator of the Federal Reserve’s major banks. Mr. Barr, who served as Assistant Treasury Secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration, was seen here at the Treasury meeting in Washington, DC on November 30, 2010.
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president Joe Biden Former Treasury official Michael Barr is appointed as the supreme regulator of the Federal Reserve’s major banks.
The bar selection was expected at the beginning of the week after CNBC confirmed that he was the front runner of the White House post. It will make the authors of major financial laws perhaps the most powerful US banking regulator, the Fed’s Vice-Chairman.
Barr served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for financial institutions under the Obama administration and helped develop the Dodd-Frank Act 2010. The law is one of the most extensive financial regulatory reviews in US history and occurred shortly after the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
Dodd-Frank has created both the Consumer Finance Protection Agency (CFPB) and the Fed’s Vice-Chairman, among other provisions aimed at protecting the economy from future disasters.
“He worked hard to get through Dodd-Frank and ensured that the future financial crisis would not cause catastrophic financial difficulties for working families,” Biden said in a statement following the official White House announcement on Friday morning. Stated.
“He is important in regulating our country’s financial institutions to ensure that this job is not a partisan job and that Americans are treated fairly and protect our economic stability. I understand that it’s a job that plays a key role, “Biden added.
The president also emphasized the fact that Barr received support from both Democrats and Republicans when previously confirmed by the Senate.
This could be a 50-50 split in the Senate, diagonally acknowledging the difficulties the government faced in promoting some of the candidates for financial regulators.
Sarah Bloom RaskinBiden’s first choice for the Fed’s banking regulator was Withdrew her candidacy last month.. She went out of consideration after Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, said she wouldn’t support her nomination because of her views on climate change and energy policy ideas. rice field.
The bar itself had last year Considered Biden’s pick Operates the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. However, a progressive Democrat was concerned that he was considered a cozy relationship with Wall Street and drowned out his candidacy.
The White House later chose Saul Omarova to replace Bar as a candidate to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. She was forced to withdraw in November As a result of skepticism from Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Senator John Tester of Montana.
By tapping the bar again, the White House convinces progressives (who may have preferred Ruskin) that Manchin’s withdrawal of Ruskin favors a more centrist choice. I’m betting that it’s enough.
These Democrats reveal details of his previous work at a financial technology company like Ripple Labs, a blockchain-based payments company, to ensure that Bar is isolated from corporate interests. Would want to.
Still, those familiar with the White House’s ideas say that the president’s advisers believe they can persuade something like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Previously praised Dodd Frank’s writing and Bar’s work in establishing the CFPB.
Moderate Democrats, such as Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who chairs the Senate Banking Commission, are considered more reliable support for veterans of the Obama and Clinton administrations.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on the left speaks with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) During Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Issues in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnick | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Republican aides to CNBC, Bar could receive a lot of negative votes from their ranks based on his work that created what many in the GOP consider to be overly burdensome financial regulation. Said that it was expensive.
If the Federal Reserve Post is confirmed, Bar will be responsible for overseeing the country’s largest banks, including: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America When Citigroup.. The Vice-Chairman oversees the safety of the country’s largest lender by ensuring that capital requirements are met, risks are identified and banks are regularly stress tested.
Bar will also be an important voice on monetary policy as one of the seven members of the Fed’s board of directors to vote at all central bank meetings.
What the Fed started last month A series of rate hikes are expected Helps cool uncontrollable inflation.Labor Ministry reported prices paid by Americans on Tuesday 8.5% surge in 12 months until MarchThe hottest pace since 1981.
However, imposing high borrowing costs on the US economy is a difficult task at its best.
Economists including Treasury Secretary and former Fed Chair Janet YellenThat said, the Fed needs to be careful not to pull back monetary easing policy too soon. Otherwise, there is a risk of US GDP growth in the face of ongoing supply chain constraints and the war between Russia and Ukraine in Europe.
“They have a dual mission. They will try to maintain a strong labor market while lowering inflation,” Yellen said Wednesday. “And it’s been done in the past. It’s not an impossible combination, but it requires skill and good luck.”
With the exception of Bar, the White House has four candidates for the Federal Reserve in front of the Senate — Jerome Powell, Lael Brainard, Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson.
Barr is the current Dean of the University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Public Policy and is the position he accepted following his work in the Obama administration. During the Clinton administration, he served as Special Assistant to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Special Advisor to President Bill Clinton.
