A bipartisan group of lawmakers called for the White House to appoint someone who has worked in community banking to fill one of two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board on Thursday.
Reps. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) led 87 members of the House of Representatives who signed a letter requesting that the White House tap people with supervisory or community banking experience to fill two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board.
“We believe it’s in the Federal Reserve’s best interest to have a representative who understands the unique needs and perspectives of community banks when key economic and regulatory decisions are being debated,” the legislators said.
Amid a period of high turnover among members of the Federal Reserve Board, the legislators said a lack of community banking experience on the board has been noticeable.
“Community bankers have an unparalleled understanding of what it takes to create healthy, vibrant local economies, which lead to a more robust national economy overall,” John Buhrmaster, chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America and president and chief executive of 1st National Bank of Scotia in Scotia, N.Y., said. “It’s in the Federal Reserve’s best interest to have a community banker on the board who can bring this valuable expertise and perspective to the table – helping to make the (Federal Reserve Board’s) decision process on economic and monetary policy as holistic as possible.”
Bipartisan legislation introduced in April would require that at least one Federal Reserve Board governor has experience in community banking or a related supervisory role.