Michael Barr Confirmed as Federal Reserve Vice-Chair of Supervision
July 18, 2022
On July 13, the Senate voted 66-28 to approve Michael Barr, a former Treasury official, for a four-year term as Vice-Chair of Supervision at the Federal Reserve. This position has been vacant since Trump-appointee Randal Quarles resigned in late 2021. In an interview with Politico before his nomination, Barr said he “would’ve done the job very differently” than Quarles.
Barr’s term as a member of the Board will run until January 2032. With Barr’s confirmation, the Fed’s seven-member board is now full. President Biden’s first nominee, former Fed official Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew from consideration after being heavily criticized for recommending that the Federal Reserve take climate change seriously as a potential risk to the financial system.
While Barr was confirmed in a strong bipartisan vote, he was closely involved in the drafting of the 2008 Dodd-Frank legislation and is considered to be tough on banks.
In addition to his focus on banks, Barr both has advised and invested in fintech companies. Politico notes that his Fed selection was “notable” given that he was previously the leading candidate for director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, but “faced fierce resistance from progressive activists who criticized his previous roles advising upstart finance companies like LendingClub and Ripple.”
Barr has also focused on advocacy for small businesses and consumers, and will now have a say in how the proposed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, currently out for comment, will be finalized. CREFC is developing a response to the CRA proposal, the deadline for which is August 5, 2022. Please contact Sairah Burki if you would like to join the working group.