Following the resignation of former Federal Reserve Board governor, Mrs. Sarah Bloom Raskin, US President Joe Biden announced his intention to pick Michael Barr, a former Obama administration official and law professor, as the central bank’s vice chair for supervision.

The White House announced on Friday that Barr was Biden’s choice to oversee the Federal Reserve and establish the regulatory agenda for its leadership. Barr sat on the Ripple Labs advisory board from 2015 to 2017, served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions under former President Barack Obama, and taught financial regulatory courses at the University of Michigan.

He was “a primary architect” of the Dodd-Frank Act, which continues to impact US’ financial policy. Ripple Labs is a financial technology company specializing in making products enabling payment settlement, asset exchange, and remittance systems that utilize blockchain technology. 

President Biden said: “Barr has strong support from across the political spectrum — and has been confirmed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis.

He understands that this job is not a partisan one, but one that plays a critical role in regulating our nation’s financial institutions to ensure Americans are treated fairly and to protect the stability of our economy.”

The president of the United States stated that he wants to “move Barr’s nomination through fast,” which is likely due to the fact that the vice-chair for supervision vacancy has been available since the end of Fed governor Randal Quarles’ term in October 2021.

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, stated that he would actively vote for the nominee.