WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Kansas bank supervisor Michelle Bowman to be a Federal Reserve governor.
With a vote of 64-34, the Senate voted to approve Bowman to fill a Fed board seat reserved for an official with community bank experience.
U.S. Congress designated the Fed's community banker seat in 2014, and Bowman will be the first person to fill the position.
Bowman was nominated by President Donald Trump in April to the Fed board alongside with Fed vice chairman Richard Clarida. With Bowman's confirmation, the Fed's seven-member board still has three vacancies.
Bowman currently serves as the Kansas State Bank Commissioner, the chief regulator for State-chartered banks and non-depository lenders. Previously, Bowman served as an executive at her family's Farmers and Drovers bank in the state of Kansas.
While Bowman's views on monetary policy are not well known, she is widely expected to support the Fed's proposal to scale back some tougher bank regulations enacted after the 2008 financial crisis, especially for smaller community banks.
Bowman's confirmation was welcomed by industry associations such as the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).
"As a fifth-generation community banker with experience at the state and federal levels, Miki Bowman is ideally suited for the Fed's community banking seat," ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said Thursday in a statement.
"We look forward to working with her on pressing regulatory issues facing community banks and the communities they serve," Rainey said.
