WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman as the central bank’s top regulated mail and as vice-chairman of oversight, overseeing the agenda of relaxed rule writing and banking supervision.
Bowman, a former community banker and frequently critic of enthusiastic banking regulations, resigned from his oversight post at the end of February, replacing Michael Barr, who avoided potential legal disputes with the Trump administration.
“Our economy has been mismanaged for the past four years, and Miki has the ‘know-how’ to get it done.”
In a statement, Bowman thanked Trump for his nomination and said he would pursue “a practical approach to oversight and regulation through a transparent, customized banking regulatory framework that promotes innovation.”
If confirmed, Bowman is responsible for the Fed’s extensive banking regulatory portfolio, including oversight and writing rules for many of the nation’s largest banks.
Her appointment soon came across praise from the banking industry and Congressional Republicans.
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“Since joining the Fed, Governor Bowman has been a thoughtful and principled voice of wise regulation and monetary policy, and someone who understands the important role banks of all sizes play in our financial system and economy,” American Bankers Association President Rob Nichols said in a statement.
Bowman was widely viewed as a frontline future to meet its role due to the fact that the Fed’s board is currently full. This means that alternatives must be named from existing governors.
Despite having little experience with global banking, Bowman is one of the top bank regulators of the US government, as GRED oversees the country’s largest and most complex lenders.
Community Banking Experience
Bowman, a former Kansas banking regulator, has served on the Fed committee since 2018 when Trump nominated her to fill a specially booked post for officials with community banking experience. She is expected to have a much lighter regulatory touch than Barr, who has been loudly criticising multiple speeches over the past 18 months.
Bowman voted against Barr’s proposal to implement the so-called “Basel III Endgame” rule, which requires Big Banks to measure risk and retain significantly more capital. She argued that the burden of capital should be reduced.
Partially spurred by Bowman’s criticism, the Big Banks pushed hard to withstand the Basel rules.
Bowman also suggests that the Fed should consider ways to make the annual big bank “stress test” more transparent and predictable for lenders. The Fed recently announced that it plans to make some important changes to future stress tests, and that major banks have sued to challenge their legality.
Before joining the Fed, Bowman served as Kansas State Banking Commissioner for a year and a half, and spent the next few years as Vice President of Farmers & Drawers Bank at Kansas Community Bank.
Early in her career, she was a Congressional staff member and also played a role in the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
By Pete Schroeder and Kanishka Singh
