Lawmakers Urge Treasury Secretary to Appoint New FRB Vice Chair for Supervision

Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee Republicans urged Treasury Secretary Bessent to fill the vacancy of Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Board.

In a letter to Secretary Bessent, the lawmakers said that Michael Barr stepped down from the position effective February 28, 2025. The lawmakers said any delay in filling the role "effectively stalls major initiatives - such as the reevaluation of Basel III Endgame and reexamination of the supervision and examination process of the Board to prevent future instances of harmful regulator-initiated 'debanking'- which require the immediate attention of the [Vice Chair for Supervision]."

The legislators further warned that "[p]ast gaps and poor leadership" have "led to disfunction [sic] at the Board and contributed to the second, third, and fourth largest bank failures in [US] history."

The legislators noted that the Board announced that it "does not intend to take up any major rulemakings until a Vice Chair for Supervision successor is confirmed." (See related coverage.)