On March 12, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to nominate Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman as vice chair for supervision, according to a White House official. Bowman, a former community banker with a history of critiquing excessive bank regulations, is expected to replace Michael Barr, a Democrat appointed by Biden, who stepped down from the supervision post in late February to avoid potential legal conflicts with the Trump administration. The news was first reported by Bloomberg News on Wednesday.
Being a current member of the Federal Reserve's full board, Bowman was a leading candidate for the role due to the requirement of naming a replacement from existing governors. Spokespeople for Bowman and the Federal Reserve declined to provide further comments at this time.
Bowman, who has been on the Fed board since 2018, occupying a position reserved for officials with community banking expertise, is anticipated to bring a less stringent regulatory approach compared to Barr, whose regulatory initiatives she has vocally criticized in numerous speeches over the past year and a half.
Notably, Bowman opposed Barr's proposal for the "Basel III Endgame" rule, advocating for reducing capital requirements for big banks instead. Her stance, along with lobbying efforts from major banks, has stalled progress on the Basel rule due to disagreements among regulatory authorities.
Furthermore, Bowman has pushed for greater transparency and predictability in the Fed's annual stress tests for major banks. Her calls have been echoed by big banks challenging the legality of the stress tests' modifications announced by the Fed.
Despite her limited experience with global banks, Bowman is expected to become one of the primary bank regulators in the U.S. and internationally, given the Fed's oversight of the nation's largest and most intricate financial institutions. Prior to her tenure at the Fed, Bowman served as the state bank commissioner of Kansas, following years as a vice president at a Kansas community bank. Early in her career, she worked as a congressional staffer and held positions at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.