The American Bankers Association (ABA) has welcomed the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to lead banking regulation and supervision at the Federal Reserve, as well as fellow Fed board nominees Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson.
In a statement , the banking industry association said the candidates would “bring a wide range of economic, regulatory and academic experience to the board of governors, which we have long believed benefits from having a full complement of governors from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints”.
Raskin has been nominated to fill the role of vice chair for supervision at the Fed, a position created in 2010 following the default and liquidity crisis that brought the US banking system to its knees. If nominated, she will be responsible for developing policy recommendations for regulating depository institutions, holding companies and other supervised financial firms, the majority of which are members of the ABA.
The nomination has attracted wide support, including from the top Republican on the House financial services committee, Patrick McHenry. However, McHenry’s Senate counterpart, Patrick Toomey, is likely to oppose the appointment because of Raskin’s support for integrating climate-related risk into US banking supervision.
Despite a growing body of evidence identifying substantial climate risks to financial stability, Toomey claims that acknowledging this risk would represent political interference in the Fed’s activities. A climate skeptic who believes that “coal is an essential part of America’s energy future”, he is the ranking Republican member of the Senate banking committee.
A joint confirmation hearing before the US Senate banking committee is expected next week.
This page was last updated January 25, 2022
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