Margaret Chadbourn | Reuters |
“President Barack Obama is considering nominating Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin to replace the U.S. Treasury Department’s No. 2 official, Neal Wolin, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Raskin, a former state banking regulator, has served on the U.S. central bank’s board since October 2010. She would bring bank regulatory experience to the job to complement the budgetary expertise of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
The source said Raskin, 52, appeared to be a leading candidate to replace Wolin, one of the Obama administration’s point people on financial regulatory reform. The White House said it had no personnel announcements to make and the Fed declined to comment. Bloomberg reported on Monday that the White House was considering Raskin…
…Raskin’s prior Senate confirmation to the Fed and her earlier work as an aide to the Senate Banking Committee could help smooth her confirmation if Obama nominates her.
If Raskin moves to the Treasury Department, it would open a second vacancy on the seven-person Fed board. Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke, another banking expert, said earlier this month that she was stepping down on Aug. 31.
Two vacancies would allow Obama to potentially package a slate of nominees in way that would be politically palatable to the closely divided Senate, which would need to confirm them.
To fill the previous two vacancies, Obama selected one Republican and one Democrat.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke also is widely expected to step down when his four-year term expires on Jan. 31, which would give Obama additional latitude to shape the U.S. central bank.
Raskin has been outspoken at the Fed about the need for mortgage servicers to move quickly to fix problems in their businesses, including illegal foreclosure practices, such as the so-called robo-signing of loan documents. Mortgage servicers, many of which are large banks, collect home loan payments and manage foreclosures.”