Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve

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Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Seal of the United States Federal Reserve Board.svg
Seal of the Board of Governors
Flag of the United States Federal Reserve.svg
Jefferson Philip BDM June 16 22-091 8x10 (52247534443).jpg
Incumbent
Philip Jefferson
since September 13, 2023
United States Federal Reserve System
Member of Board of Governors
Open Market Committee
Reports to United States Congress
Seat Eccles Building
Washington, D.C.
Appointer President
with Senate advice and consent
Term length Four years, renewable (as Vice Chair)
14 years, non-renewable (as Governor)
Constituting instrument Federal Reserve Act
FormationAugust 10, 1914;110 years ago (1914-08-10)
First holder Frederic Adrian Delano
Salary Executive Schedule, Level II [1]
Website www.federalreserve.gov

The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve, after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair presides over the meetings Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Contents

The vice chair and the vice chair for supervision each serve a four-year term after being nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, and they serve concurrently as members of the Board of Governors. Both vice chairs may serve multiple terms, pending a new nomination and confirmation at the end of each term, with Ronald Ransom as the longest serving vice chair from 1936 to 1947. They cannot be dismissed by the president before the end of their term. [2]

The position of vice chair is currently held by Philip Jefferson who was sworn in on September 13, 2023. [3] The position of vice chair for supervision is currently vacant since Michael Barr's resignation which takes effect on February 28 2025. [4]

Appointment process

As stipulated by the Banking Act of 1935, the president may designated to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board for four-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the sitting governors. [5] [6] [7] The Senate Committee responsible for vetting a Federal Reserve vice chair and vice chair for supervision nominees is the Senate Committee on Banking.

Duties of the Fed vice сhairs

The vice chair of the Board shall serve in the absence of the chair as leader of the Federal Reserve system until chair's replacement was installed by the Senate. [8] [9] [10]

By law, the vice chair, as part of the Board, make a full report of its operations to the speaker of the House, on progress towards the Fed's responsibilities and monetary policy objectives, which are "maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates." [11]

The duties of the vice chair for supervision would include developing policy recommendations regarding supervision and regulation for the Board. The vice chairman of supervision will report to Congress semiannually on the efforts of the board with respect to the conduct of supervision and regulation. [9]

By law, the vice chair for supervision shall appear before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and at semi-annual hearings regarding the efforts, activities, objectives, and plans of the Board with respect to the conduct of supervision and regulation of depository institution holding companies and other financial firms supervised by the Board. [12]

Conflict of interest law

The law applicable to the chair, vice chairs and all other members of the board provides (in part):

No member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be an officer or director of any bank, banking institution, trust company, or Federal Reserve bank or hold stock in any bank, banking institution, or trust company; and before entering upon his duties as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System he shall certify under oath that he has complied with this requirement, and such certification shall be filed with the secretary of the Board. [13]

Salary

The Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve and the Vice Chair for Supervision are Level II positions in the Executive Schedule, [1] thus earning the salary prescribed for that level (US$203,700, as of January 2023). [14]

List of Fed vice chairs

The following is a list of past and present vice chairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A vice chair serves for a four-year term after appointment, but may be reappointed for several consecutive four-year terms. Since the Federal Reserve was established in 1914, the following people have served as vice chair. [a] [15]

#PortraitName
(Birth–death)
Term of office [b] Tenure lengthAppointed by [c]
Start of termEnd of term
1 Portrait of Frederic Adrian Delano.jpg Frederic Delano
(1863–1953)
August 10, 1914August 9, 19161 year, 365 days Woodrow Wilson
2 Paul Warburg 01.jpg Paul Warburg
(1868–1932)
August 10, 1916August 9, 19181 year, 364 days
3 Official portrait of Federal Reserve Vice Chair Albert Strauss.jpg Albert Strauss
(1864–1929)
October 26, 1918March 15, 19201 year, 141 days
4 Edmund Platt.jpg Edmund Platt
(1865–1939)
July 23, 1920September 14, 193010 years, 53 days
5 Official portrait of Federal Reserve Vice Chair John J. Thomas.jpg John Thomas
(1869–unknown)
August 21, 1934February 10, 19361 year, 173 days Franklin D. Roosevelt
6 Ronald Ransom.jpg Ronald Ransom
(1882–1947)
August 6, 1936December 2, 194711 years, 118 days
7 Canby Balderston.jpg Canby Balderston
(1897–1979)
March 11, 1955February 28, 196610 years, 354 days Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
8 Official portrait of Federal Reserve Vice Chair James L. Robertson.jpg James Robertson
(1907–1994)
March 1, 1966April 30, 19737 years, 60 days Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
9 George W. Mitchell.jpg George Mitchell
(1904–1997)
May 1, 1973February 13, 19762 years, 288 days Richard Nixon
10 Vice Chair Stephen S Gardner 140501.jpg Stephen Gardner
(1921–1978)
February 13, 1976November 19, 19782 years, 279 days Gerald Ford
11 Frederick Schultz.jpg Frederick Schultz
(1929–2009)
July 27, 1979February 11, 19822 years, 199 days Jimmy Carter
12 Vice Chair Preston Martin.jpg Preston Martin
(1923–2007)
March 31, 1982April 30, 19864 years, 30 days Ronald Reagan
13 Manuel H. Johnson.jpg Manley Johnson
(born 1949)
August 4, 1986August 3, 19903 years, 364 days
14 Official portrait of Federal Reserve Vice Chair David W. Mullins Jr..jpg David Mullins
(1946–2018)
July 24, 1991February 14, 19942 years, 205 days George H. W. Bush
15 Alan S. Blinder, Vice Chairman Federal Reserve.jpg Alan Blinder
(born 1945)
June 27, 1994January 31, 19961 year, 218 days Bill Clinton
16 Alice Rivlin.jpg Alice Rivlin
(1931–2019)
June 25, 1996July 16, 19993 years, 21 days
17 RogerWFergusonJr.jpg Roger Ferguson
(born 1951)
October 5, 1999April 28, 20066 years, 205 days Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
18 Don Kohn.jpg Don Kohn
(born 1942)
June 23, 2006June 23, 20104 years, 0 days George W. Bush
19 Janet Yellen official portrait.jpg Janet Yellen
(born 1946)
October 4, 2010February 3, 20143 years, 122 days Barack Obama
20 Stanley Fischer (14152693510).jpg Stan Fischer
(born 1943)
June 16, 2014October 16, 20173 years, 122 days
21 Richard Clarida official photo.jpg Richard Clarida
(born 1957)
September 17, 2018January 14, 20223 years, 119 days Donald Trump
22 Lael Brainard (14438068496).jpg Lael Brainard
(born 1962)
May 23, 2022February 18, 2023271 days Joe Biden
23 Jefferson Philip BDM June 16 22-091 8x10 (52247534443).jpg Philip Jefferson
(born 1961/1962)
September 13, 2023Incumbent1 year, 150 days

List of Fed vice chairs for supervision

The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which came into force on July 21, 2010, required the president to designate, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a new "Vice Chairman for Supervision," who "shall develop policy recommendations for the Board regarding supervision and regulation of depository institution holding companies and other financial firms supervised by the Board and shall oversee the supervision and regulation of such firms." [8] Since the Dodd–Frank Act was enacted in 2010, the following people have served as vice chair for supervision. [15]

#PortraitName
(Birth–death)
Term of office [b] Tenure lengthAppointed by
Start of termEnd of term
1 Randal Quarles official photo.jpg Randy Quarles
(born 1957)
October 13, 2017October 13, 20214 years, 0 days Donald Trump
2 Michael S. Barr, Federal Reserve Member.jpg Michael Barr
(born 1965/1966)
July 19, 2022February 28, 20252 years, 224 days Joe Biden

See also

Notes

  1. The position was established as Vice Governor of the Federal Reserve Board on December 23, 1913; thereafter became Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on August 23, 1935; and re-aligned to be gender-neutral after Rivlin became the first female officeholder on June 25, 1996.
  2. 1 2 The start date given here for each officeholder is the day they took the oath of office, and the end date is the day of their term expiration, resignation, retirement, or death.
  3. A fixed term with reappointment for the Vice Chair, then known as Vice Governor, was not added to the Federal Reserve Act until the Banking Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-305, 49 Stat. 684).

References

  1. 1 2 5 U.S.C.   § 5313
  2. "Can the President Fire the Chairman of the Federal Reserve?". Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  3. "Philip N. Jefferson sworn in as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System". Federal Reserve. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  4. "Federal Reserve Board announces Michael S. Barr will step down from his position as Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision, effective February 28, 2025, and will continue to serve as governor". Federal Reserve. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. "The Fed - Board Members". Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. February 21, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  6. "The Structure of the Federal Reserve System". Federalreserve.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  7. Federal Reserve (January 16, 2009). "Board of Governors FAQ". Federal Reserve. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  8. 1 2 see 12 U.S.C.   § 244
  9. 1 2 "Chair of the Federal Reserve Board". www.stlouisfed.org. February 12, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  10. Reddy, Sudeep (January 11, 2010). "What If The Senate Doesn't Confirm Bernanke By Jan. 31?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  11. see 12 U.S.C.   § 247
  12. see 12 U.S.C.   § 247b
  13. 12 U.S.C.   § 244
  14. "Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF).
  15. 1 2 "Vice Chairs". Membership of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 1914–present. The Federal Reserve Board. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.

Further reading