Dallas Fed names former Goldman Sachs banker new president

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas on Monday picked Robert Steven Kaplan to be its next president, ending a nine-month search just as U.S. central bankers near the critical decision of when and how fast to raise interest rates.

After working at Goldman, Kaplan joined Harvard University where he was the senior associate dean of the business school, according to a Dallas Fed press release. The native of Kansas and a graduate of Harvard Business School, also co-chairs a philanthropic organization, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, which invests in not-for-profit organizations. Kaplan may have success Richard Fisher, who exactly former in March after 10 yrs primary the Dallas Fed.

The Dallas Fed president rotates into a voting spot on the Fed’s policy-setting panel in 2017, and takes part in policy discussions at the central bank’s regular meetings.

The law governing the Fed allows the boards of the 12 regional banks – who say they’re exempt from sunshine laws because they aren’t government officials – to pick their presidents.

“He has had distinguished careers in business and academia, and has the right combination of leadership skills, business experience and public-service mindset”. A commitment to the Dallas Fed district, which covers Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Louisiana, also ranked among the desired qualities.