The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the deputy head of the Federal Reserve, which is the central banking system of the United States. The position is known colloquially as "Vice Chair of the Fed" or "Fed vice chair". The vice chair shall preside at meetings of the Board, in absence, of the chair of the Federal Reserve.
The vice chair, as well as vice chair for Supervision, is nominated by the president of the United States from among the members of the Board of Governors, and serves a term of four years after being confirmed by the United States Senate. Both vice chairs may serve multiple consecutive terms, pending a new nomination and confirmation at the end of each. Ronald Ransom was the longest serving vice chair, holding the office from 1936 to 1947, with Edmund Platt a close second. The vice chairs does not serve at the pleasure of the president, meaning that he or she cannot be dismissed by him, however, the vice chairs can resign before the end of the term.[2]
The current vice chair is Richard Clarida, who was sworn in on September 17, 2018.[3][4]
The current vice chair with specific responsibility (for Supervision) is Randal Quarles, who was sworn in on October 17, 2017, to fill an unexpired term. He was confirmed to his second term on July 17, 2018.[5]
1935 reorganization
Section 203 of the Banking Act of 1935 changed the name of the "Federal Reserve Board" to the "Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System," the "vice governor" as the "vice chairman" of the Board, and renamed "members" of the Board as "governors."[6]
The Banking Act of 1935 also made the following structural changes:
increased the number of members of the Board appointed by the President from six to seven
required the President to designate one of the persons appointed as "chairman" of the Board and one as "vice chairman" of the Board, each to serve in such role for a term of four years
specified that the appointive members in office on the date of the act should continue to serve until February 1, 1936, or until their successors were appointed and had qualified; thereafter, the members' terms should be 14 years
specified that the ex officio members in office on the date of the act (the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency) were to continue to serve as ex officio members only until February 1, 1936, but made no further provision for ex officio members
provided that the "chairman of the Board, subject to its supervision, shall be its active executive officer"
In the 1935 Act, the district deputy heads, who had been labeled the vice governors, received the title of first vice president (e.g., "first vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis" ).[7]
2010 reorganization
The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which came into force on July 21, 2010, required the President to designate, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a new "Vice Chairman for Supervision," who "shall develop policy recommendations for the Board regarding supervision and regulation of depository institution holding companies and other financial firms supervised by the Board and shall oversee the supervision and regulation of such firms."[8]
Appointment process
As stipulated by the Banking Act of 1935, the president appoints the seven members of the Board of Governors; they must then be confirmed by the Senate and serve fourteen year terms.[9][10]
The nominees for chair and vice-chairs may be chosen by the president from among the sitting governors for four-year terms; these appointments are also subject to Senate confirmation.[11] The Senate Committee responsible for vetting a Federal Reserve vice chair and vice chair for supervision nominees is the Senate Committee on Banking.
Duties of the Fed vice сhair
The vice chair of the Board shall serve in the absence of the Chair as leader of the Federal Reserve until chair's replacement was installed by the Senate.[8]
By law, the vice chair, as part of the Board, make a full report of its operations to the speaker of the House, on progress towards the Fed's responsibilities and monetary policy objectives, which are "maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates."[12]
The duties of the vice chair for supervision would include developing policy recommendations regarding supervision and regulation for the board. The vice chairman of supervision will report to Congress semiannually on the efforts of the board with respect to the conduct of supervision and regulation.
The law applicable to the chair, vice chairs and all other members of the board provides (in part):
No member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be an officer or director of any bank, banking institution, trust company, or Federal Reserve bank or hold stock in any bank, banking institution, or trust company; and before entering upon his duties as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System he shall certify under oath that he has complied with this requirement, and such certification shall be filed with the secretary of the Board.[14]
The following is a list of past and present vice chairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A vice chair serves for a four-year term after appointment, but may be reappointed for several consecutive four-year terms. Since the Federal Reserve was established in 1914, the following 21 individuals have served as vice chair.[A][16]
^Vice Chair was originally known as "Vice Governor" before August 23, 1935, and were then designated as "Vice Chairman" until approximately June 25, 1996, when Dr. Rivlin sworn in as first female Fed vice chair.
^Sec. 203, Banking Act of 1935, Public Law no. 305, 49 Stat. 684, 704 (Aug. 23, 1935).
^Richardson, Gary; Komai, Alejandro; Gou, Michael (November 22, 2013). "Banking Act of 1935". www.federalreservehistory.org. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
^Federal Reserve (January 16, 2009). "Board of Governors FAQ". Federal Reserve. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
^"Vice Chairs". Membership of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 1914–present. The Federal Reserve Board. September 17, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
^"Vice Chairs for Supervision". Membership of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 1914–present. The Federal Reserve Board. October 17, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
Create article about important position of the Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, a deputy head of the us central bank, and its office holders through time
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