President Trump today said he would name Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as chairman of the Fed. Powell first joined the board in 2012 and has played a major role in bank supervision and payments systems activities while on the board.
American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols congratulated Powell on his nomination. “President Trump has chosen someone of great integrity, intellect and experience for this critically important position, and we know Governor Powell will be up to this challenge,” he said. “He has demonstrated sound judgment in his handling of monetary policy since joining the Federal Reserve. He has also demonstrated a keen understanding of the important relationship between monetary policy and sound regulatory policy, and how the two can work together to reinforce economic growth.”
A lawyer by training, Powell’s pre-Fed experience includes work as an investment banker, as a senior Treasury official during the George H.W. Bush administration and as a private equity investor. If confirmed, he will be (with a brief exception during the Carter administration) the first non-economist to chair the Fed since 1970.
Nichols also saluted outgoing Fed Chairman Janet Yellen for her leadership. “Her actions helped lift the economy while strengthening the financial system,” he said. “Under her leadership, the Fed has also begun the important task of reviewing and reforming key elements of financial supervision, including stress tests and capital simplification.”
