WASHINGTON — Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said Friday he plans to retire on Oct. 1 after serving two decades as head of the regional bank.
Hoenig's retirement had been widely anticipated as he reached the Fed's mandatory retirement age of 65.
An outspoken anti-inflation hawk, his departure will remove one opponent to the Fed's current monetary policy. He strongly opposed the central bank's effort to boost the economy by keeping interest rates low for an extended period, as well as its decision to purchase billions of dollars in Treasury securities, known as quantitative easing.
He dissented against these policies at all eight Fed meetings last year.
The Kansas City Fed has set up a committee and hired a firm to help find Hoeing's successor.
Hoeing has been president since 1991 and is the longest-tenured president in the regional bank's nearly 100 year history. He is also the most senior participant on Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
"The recent financial crisis and its aftermath provided those outside the Federal Reserve with an appreciation for the vision, expertise and thoughtful analysis that has made Tom one of the most valued participants in central bank policymaking around the world," said Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Chairman Paul DeBruce, in a press release.
