Senate hearing: Raskin says Fed's job is not to direct bank lending
Sarah Bloom Raskin is heading to Capitol Hill this morning for a confirmation hearing to become the Federal Reserve's Vice Chairwoman of Supervision (i.e. the government's most influential overseer of the American banking system). She'd also fill one of the three open spots on the central bank's board of governors, which wields much influence over the world's largest economy. Her resume features a Fed governor position from 2010 to 2014 before moving on to become former President Barack Obama's deputy Treasury Secretary.
Bigger picture: Raskin is known as a climate hero in many circles for her calls on financial regulators to use their powers to mitigate the risks of climate-related events. The stance has raised some pushback, with a group of 41 oil-and-gas trade groups urging lawmakers to oppose her, citing her stance on climate change. However, Raskin was careful to address those concerns in prepared remarks, saying she wouldn't discourage banks from investing in fossil fuels in her capacity at the Fed.
"The role does not involve directing banks to make loans only to specific sectors, or to avoid making loans to particular sectors. And the role exists within the laws passed by Congress that govern the Federal Reserve and its responsibilities."
Diverse makeover: The hearing will also cover the Fed board picks of Dr. Lisa DeNell Cook and Dr. Philip Nathan Jefferson. Cook, which has written extensively about the economic consequences of racial disparities and gender inequality, as well as wages, poverty and income distribution, currently serves as a Michigan State economics professor and formerly worked as a senior economist on Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. Jefferson is a former Fed economist who currently serves as dean of faculty and academic-affairs vice president at North Carolina's Davidson College.
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