Quarles sworn in as first vice chairman/supervision for FRB

Randal K. “Randy” Quarles officially became the Federal Reserve Board’s first vice chairman for supervision after being sworn in Monday by Chairman Janet Yellen.

FRB Chairman Janet Yellen shakes the hand of new Vice Chairman/Supervision Randal K. Quarles; his wife Hope is at center.

Quarles, 60, joined the board Oct. 13 about a week following his confirmation by the Senate to the post. Monday’s ceremony was a formality.

Quarles was actually confirmed to two terms: the first completing the remainder of an existing term of a former Fed governor, ending next February; the second to a 14-year term, ending in 2032. According to the Fed, his term as vice chair for supervision ends in four years (on Oct. 13, 2021).

Quarles is the first to assume the new position at the Federal Reserve. Although the position of vice chairman for supervision was mandated by the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as Dodd–Frank), it has never been filled.

The new vice chairman has long experience in government. He served in the administration of President George Herbert Walker Bush from 1990-93 as special assistant to the Treasury Secretary for banking legislation and as Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for financial institutions policy. From 2001-06, he served in the administration of President George Walker Bush as U.S. Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, and Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance.

Most recently, he was a founder and partner of the Cynosure Group of Salt Lake City, a private equity investment company.