Biden considers Raskin as top Fed banking regulator

(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden is considering former Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin to lead regulation and supervision at the central bank as part of a slate of three nominees to its Board of Governors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Raskin, who also served in the Treasury Department in the Obama administration, could bring a tougher regulatory profile to the country’s most powerful bank oversight role, a position recently vacated by Randal Quarles, a Donald Trump appointee who riled progressives with a more Wall Street-friendly approach.

Biden is also considering two Black economists – Lisa Cook from Michigan State University and Philip Jefferson from Davidson College in North Carolina – for seats on the Fed Board, appointments that would help fulfill a goal of diversifying the leadership of the U.S. central bank. All current governors including Chair Jerome Powell are white, and the Fed has had just three black governors in over a century of existence.

Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the Journal’s report, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Raskin, Cook and Jefferson could not be reached for comment.

The role of vice chair of supervision is the most consequential of the vacancies on the Fed’s seven-member board available to be filled by Biden, giving the first-term Democrat an opportunity to leave a lasting imprint on both Wall Street oversight and U.S. monetary policy.

The industry, progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups alike have been waiting anxiously for the White House to name the new supervision chief who will drive policy on thorny issues including climate change financial risks, community lending rules, and financial technology companies.

Biden has already decided to renominate Powell to a second term as Fed chair, a decision that rankled progressive Democrats. He also nominated Governor Lael Brainard to the Fed’s other vice chair slot, which is focused on the Fed’s economic and monetary policy agenda.