Federal Reserve Governor Tarullo Resigns
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("Board") Governor Daniel K. Tarullo submitted his resignation letter to President Trump. The resignation is effective April 5, 2017. Governor Tarullo's departure will leave the Board with three vacancies.
Governor Tarullo served as Chair of the Board's Committee on Supervision and Regulation and Chair of the Financial Stability Board's Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation. He also served as the informal "Vice Chairman of Supervision," a Dodd-Frank created position that was never filled by President Obama. In that capacity, Governor Tarullo has been recognized as the architect of much of the Board's post-crisis policy and regulatory decision-making.
The four current Governors are: Stanley Fischer (term expires January 31, 2020); Janet Yellen (term expires January 31, 2024); Lael Brainard (term expires January 31, 2026); and Jerome H. Powell (term expires January 31, 2028). The term of current Chair Janet Yellen expires February 3, 2018. President Trump will have the opportunity to influence the direction of the Board by filling the three vacant seats, naming a new Chair, and filling key leadership positions.
Commentary
Governor Tarullo pursued an expansionary regulatory philosophy. He believed that financial market participants fell into two categories: banks that were at least indirectly regulated by the Federal Reserve Board, and shadow banks that were improperly avoiding regulation by the Board. (See Fed Governor Examines Post-Crisis Financial Regulation; Governor Tarullo Delivers Speech Regarding Shadow Banking and Systemic Risk Regulation.) Throughout his tenure, Governor Tarullo seemed to be oddly hostile to the securities financing markets and largely indifferent to declines in liquidity in the financial markets. (See Federal Reserve Board Governor Tarullo Calls for Regulatory Approach to "Runnable Funding".)
Governor Tarullo could have remained to complete his full term set to expire on January 31, 2022. It is clear, however that the Governor's expansionary regulatory philosophy would have come into direct conflict with the views of the new administration. Governor Tarullo's resignation is significant given the influence that he held over the regulatory direction at the Board.
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