Fed hires veteran IG from Justice to lead its internal oversight division (and CFPB’s), filling position left open by retirement

The Federal Reserve Friday selected a former Justice Department inspector general (IG) to serve the same role for the central bank – and for the federal consumer financial protection agency.

In a release, the Fed said it has appointed Michael E. Horowitz to serve as its IG and that for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The appointment of the consumer bureau IG is required by statute, the Fed pointed out. The Fed finances the CFPB, also by law, but the bureau is autonomous from the Fed.

Horowitz succeeds Mark Bialek as IG. He retired in April after serving nearly 14 years as IG for the Fed.

Horowitz had been IG for Justice since 2012. The Fed said that he has more than 35 years of experience in law, public administration, and investigations. Over the period, the Fed said he chaired a committee of 21 federal inspectors general to oversee $5 trillion in pandemic relief spending, chaired the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and has been a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Prior to that, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, eventually serving as chief of that office’s public corruption unit. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Brandeis University, the Fed said.

Michael E. Horowitz appointed Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau