Judy Shelton’s nomination to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Reserve Board “moved closer to confirmation Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set in motion the procedures needed to secure a final vote,” which could come “as soon as next week,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Mr. McConnell’s decision suggests a high likelihood that she has the votes needed for confirmation, according to political analysts.”
Shelton was approved by the Senate Banking Committee back in July “on a party-line vote despite objections from Democrats.” She would fill a vacancy that runs through January 2024.
Judy Shelton, President Trump's nominee for governor of the Federal Reserve, listens during a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on Feb. 13, 2020.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
“Mr. Trump also nominated Christopher Waller, the research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, for a second vacancy, but Mr. McConnell hasn’t started the process that would bring him up for a full Senate vote. If both seats are filled this year, President-elect Joe Biden wouldn’t have any vacancies to fill on the seven-member board when he takes office in January.”
“Also on Thursday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska — a key moderate whose support had not been assured — said she would back Shelton’s nomination,” the Washington Post said. “Just a few months ago, it was unclear whether Shelton had enough support among GOP senators to be confirmed.”
“Shelton’s confirmation could mark Trump’s final imprint on the Fed board before the Biden administration is inaugurated in January, giving the president another chance to shape the long-term direction of one of the government’s most powerful entities.”
“The confirmation of Mr. Trump’s two nominees would deny his successor, Joe Biden, an opportunity to quickly reshape the Fed board with his own appointments early on during his administration,” the Financial Times said.
Welcome to the club
Goldman Sachs “promoted 60 bankers into its partnership on Thursday, the fewest in two decades as Chief Executive David Solomon tries to restore the somewhat faded luster of Wall Street’s most elite club,” the Journal reported. “The group is marginally more diverse than in past years and heavier on coders, but still dominated by traders and deal makers. They ascend at an uncertain moment for Goldman, which is trying to remake itself from a Wall Street powerhouse into something of a financial superstore without losing its identity or its rainmakers.”
“Women and ethnic minorities make up almost half of the new crop of Goldman Sachs partners, lessening the dominance of white men at one of Wall Street’s most exclusive clubs,” the FT said. “The latest group includes 32 white men, giving them a 53% share of the promotions, the smallest representation they have ever had. The share of new partners from Goldman’s traditional powerhouses of investment banking and trading has fallen to 66%, down from 71% two years ago.”
Wall Street Journal
Through the roof
The median price for existing homes rose in every one of the 181 metro areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors compared to last year’s third quarter. “This broad-based rally for single-family homes marked the first time since 1980 that every metro area tracked by NAR posted an annual price increase in the same quarter, NAR said. Back then, the association tracked 19 metro areas.”
“Prices in most markets weren’t simply edging higher but were up significantly from a year ago. In nearly two-thirds of the metro areas tracked by NAR, prices posted double-digit gains. Nationwide, the median single-family home price rose 12% from a year earlier to $313,500, NAR said.”
“Her first mission would almost certainly be on the domestic front: ensuring that Mr. Biden’s ambitious economic agenda, including large-scale stimulus to jolt the recovery, can be passed in a divided Congress and properly implemented. But Ms. Brainard is also steeped in international expertise and relationships, which makes her a known quantity in finance ministries and central banks around the world.”
Quotable
“It means Republicans are taking it very seriously and Trump wants to get it done. People said, ‘Well, she’s not in the mainstream with all the other Fed economists.’ Well, that’s what we like about her. ... There’s this sense that everyone has to drink the same Kool-Aid at the Fed.” — Stephen Moore, an outside economic adviser to the White House who abandoned his own bid to fill a Fed seat, on the planned vote in the Senate on Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Fed.
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent had been the betting favorite to take the reins at Treasury. Scott Turner, a former congressman and NFL player, will lead the housing agency.
While the risks, benefits and magnitude of artificial intelligence's impact on financial services remain unclear, agencies should keep an open mind toward the technology and avoid reflexive risk aversion in bank supervision, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said.
The Dallas bank's new CEO, Thomas Shafer, served in top roles at a number of banks that were subsequently acquired before he stepped away from the industry in 2022.
In its latest financial stability report, the Federal Reserve warned high equity valuations and low levels of liquidity could leave the financial system vulnerable to shocks.
The Columbus, Ohio-based regional launched Lift Local Business in October 2020 with a $25 million ceiling. Four years and $133 million later, the program is still going strong.
The bank and payment company are using the technology that underpins digital assets to improve interoperability for international transactions, a major point of friction in trade finance.
