Sidelining of Quarles complicates Fed’s policymaking

By Brendan Pedersen and Hannah Lang

WASHINGTON — With Gov. Randal Quarles no longer serving as the Federal Reserve Board’s head of bank supervision, regulatory matters have been effectively sidelined until the Biden administration fills key leadership posts at the central bank, experts say.  In addition to his role as a Fed governor, Quarles was confirmed by the Senate in 2017 to the newly created post of vice chair for supervision, but his term ended Wednesday and the administration has yet to name a successor. ….But some of the more hot-button issues could be delayed until a permanent vice chair for supervision and chair of the Fed are confirmed, said Karen Petrou, managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics. “There has been a de facto moratorium on anything controversial during the increasingly lengthy and parlous uncertainty over Powell’s renomination, and that’s not going to change until there is certainty over both the nomination and, depending on how that goes, confirmation,” said Petrou.

https://www.americanbanker.com/news/sidelining-of-quarles-complicates-feds-policymaking