Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown said he expects Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles’s oversight of the central bank’s financial supervision to end with the conclusion of his term in October.
“He has frankly done the bidding of Wall Street far too many years,” Brown said of Quarles in an interview on Bloomberg TV on Thursday. “He should not be there after October. I’d be very surprised if the president reappointed him.”
Brown’s committee has responsibility for considering Fed nominations. President Joe Biden’s administration is discussing the use of openings on the board to reshape the central bank to closer align with administration priorities such as tighter banking regulations, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Brown, an Ohio Democrat, criticized Quarles for inaction on banking supervision issues including the allowance of stock buybacks and the level of capital, along with failing to push more stringent stress tests.
Brown, is the latest high-profile Democrat to call for Biden to dump Quarles. Senator Elizabeth Warren has previously put explicit pressure on Biden to appoint a new vice chair for supervision come October.
The Senate Banking chief also said that the Fed should be proactive in addressing income inequality through the banking system, by ending discriminatory banking practices and the effects of historical redlining.
