WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate on Thursday approved Randal Quarles as the Federal Reserve's first-ever vice chairman for supervision in a vote of 65 to 32, a critical role for financial regulations in the U.S.
Quarles, an investment-fund manager and former U.S. Treasury official, is expected to play a leading role in the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul the financial regulatory system.
At his confirmation hearing in July, Quarles supported refinements to the regulatory regime adopted after the 2008 financial crisis, such as stress tests for big banks.
Quarles will also sit on the Fed's monetary policy committee and have influence over the monetary policy decisions. He has criticized the Fed for its unpredictable policy-making.
The Fed's vice chairman for supervision was created by U.S. Congress under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis. But it was never filled during the Obama administration.
Upon the confirmation of Quarles, President Donald Trump still needs to pick four nominees to fill up the seven-member Fed board, as vice chairman Stanley Fischer is to retire this month and Fed chair Janet Yellen's term expires in February next year.
