Vice Chair for Supervision

Vice Chair for Supervision
Name	Vice Chair for Supervision
Department	Federal Reserve System
Style	The Honorable
Reports to	Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	2010

Contents

Vice Chair for Supervision The Vice Chair for Supervision is a senior official within the Federal Reserve System tasked with overseeing bank supervision and regulation, coordinating with federal agencies and international bodies such as the Bank for International Settlements, Financial Stability Board, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and national regulators like the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The office interfaces with the United States Treasury Department, Congress committees including the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the United States House Committee on Financial Services, and with private-sector institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Bank of America.

Role and Responsibilities

The Vice Chair for Supervision leads supervisory policy at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and directs implementation of statutes including the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and post-crisis standards like Basel III and the Volcker Rule. The office manages examinations of large bank holding companies such as Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Morgan Stanley, coordinates stress testing under the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review with counterpart agencies such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and interacts with international rulemaking forums like the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Financial Action Task Force, and the Group of Twenty. The Vice Chair engages with congressional hearings before bodies including the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the United States House Committee on Financial Services on matters involving Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 responses and systemic risk oversight related to institutions like AIG and Lehman Brothers.

The Vice Chair for Supervision is nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate under provisions added by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The statutory term and conditions reference the Federal Reserve Act and require periodic reconfirmation; the nominee must be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and may serve concurrently with other Board roles, paralleling processes used for appointments such as those of the Chair of the Federal Reserve and the Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board.

The Vice Chair for Supervision oversees directorates within the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System including supervisory functions tied to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, regional Federal Reserve Banks like the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and specialized units handling capital adequacy, liquidity, and resolution planning. Staff interactions extend to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of Thrift Supervision's successors, and involve coordination with legal teams versed in statutes such as the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act and enforcement divisions that have pursued actions against firms like Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank. The office relies on economists and risk analysts familiar with models used by institutions such as the Bank for International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund.

The Vice Chair for Supervision shapes rulemaking and supervisory guidance under statutes and standards including the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Federal Reserve Act, Basel III, and directives implementing capital and liquidity frameworks after crises involving Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. The office influences regulations affecting bank holding companies, systemic risk designations under the Financial Stability Oversight Council, resolution planning for global systemically important banks (G‑SIBs) as classified by the Financial Stability Board, and stress testing frameworks like the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review and Dodd-Frank stress tests. The Vice Chair collaborates with international counterparts such as officials from the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, People's Bank of China, and national regulators from Canada and Australia.

Notable individuals who have held the position have engaged directly with crises and reforms linked to events such as the 2007–2008 financial crisis and legislative responses like the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Officeholders have testified before panels including the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and congressional committees formed after episodes involving firms like AIG, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America. They have coordinated cross-border supervisory actions with entities such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Monetary Fund.

The Vice Chair for Supervision has faced scrutiny in matters involving enforcement against firms like Wells Fargo, debates over systemic risk treatment of firms such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, and criticisms from legislators in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives regarding transparency, accountability, and the scope of regulatory reach. Critics have cited tensions between supervisory priorities and market participants including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, disputes over stress test methodologies referenced by academics at institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, and Princeton University, and oversight questions arising from international coordination with bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the Bank for International Settlements.