Biden wants diversity at the Fed and has some options

President Joe Biden promised that his nominations to the United States central bank will bring “new diversity“To the Federal Reserve, adding that”it is much needed and long awaited”.

In the Fed’s 107-year history, only three black Americans have served as governors on the central bank board in Washington. After his appointment on Monday of the president of the Fed, Jerome Powell, to a second term in office, and from Gov. Lael Brainard to vice president, President Biden has three more seats to fill on the board, including a new oversight vice presidency.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, later told reporters that the Administration “hope to make decisions soon”About the three vacancies.

Have kept Powell, a Republican, was a continuity option. He ignored calls from Biden’s fellow Democrats for changes to the central bank.

Of the governors currently serving on the board of the Fed, all are white and four of the six are male. So he’s under pressure to deliver on his promise to make the central bank more like the rest of the United States.

These are some of the candidates that, according to observers from the Fed, could be considered:

Raphael Bostic

Raphael Bostic, the first black Fed chairman in central bank history, is coming up as a possible pick. On Monday, Bostic said adding diversity to the central bank “It is something that the Administration has talked about a lot and is taking seriously”.

Cecilia Rouse

Cecilia Rouse is currently one of Biden’s top economic advisers as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. If elected, she would become the first black woman to sit on the Fed’s board.

Roger Ferguson

Roger Ferguson was vice chairman of the Fed from 1999 to 2006, and was one of Alan Greenspan’s top advisers during part of what was then America’s longest expansion. He also led the central bank’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Ferguson was the first, and so far only, African-American to serve as vice chairman of the Fed.

Seth Carpenter

Seth Carpenter is Morgan Stanley’s chief global economist and a former staff member of the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury. As deputy director of the monetary affairs division of the Fed’s board, Carpenter helped advise US central bankers in the preparation of their regular meetings and would be no stranger to the policy debate.

William Spriggs

William Spriggs is a professor of economics at Howard University, a historically black school in Washington, as well as chief economist for the AFL-CIO union federation. He is one of the people who have been approved for a position, according to two people familiar with the matter. Spriggs previously served as an undersecretary in the Obama Department of Labor, a position for which he was confirmed by the Senate.

Lisa Cook

Lisa Cook is a professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State University. Cook served on Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and on Biden’s transition team, helping lead the group that did a review of banking regulators, including the Fed. If elected, she would be the first black woman on the board. of the Fed in its history.