Federal Reserve governor Randy Quarles will step down at the end of December

Federal Reserve Governor Randy Quarles has tendered his resignation to President Joe Biden.

In October, Quarles ended his term as the first-ever vice chair for supervision, a position created by the Dodd-Frank Act. He will remain in his position as chair of the Financial Stability Board until December 2.

Quarles’s term as governor, which began in 2018 as President Trump’s first appointment to the Fed, was not set to expire until 2032. He has not revealed what he plans to do next.

The vice chairmanship of supervision is broadly responsible for ensuring that Wall Street banks do not recreate the conditions that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Broadly considered a moderate, Quarles invoked the ire of some Democrats over his hesitance to exercise supervisory authority. 

It is widely expected that the Biden administration will appoint a more aggressive regulator to the position — potentially fellow Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who is known for her suspicion of private stablecoins and interest in issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

In a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee in May, Quarles noted that the Fed would require additional statutory from Congress to actually launch a CBDC, a prospect that seems unlikely given current congressional deadlock.

Meanwhile, Jerome Powell’s term as Fed Chairman is set to expire in February, but he seems likely to clinch the renomination. 

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