Uneasiness about Federal Reserve policy and about the succession plan have sent equity markets into a tailspin and currency markets into a state of high volatility. On Monday, US equities posted their fourth consecutive losing day. In overnight trading, global shares again lost ground as concerns about the Fed weighed heavily on the global marketplace.
And, not to be overlooked is concern about who will replace current Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. President Obama has apparently narrowed the field to the two most popular candidates, former Treasury Secretary and former President of Harvard, Lawrence Summers, and current Fed Vice Chair, Janet Yellen.
As Obama considers his options and refines his choice, he seems to be adding additional weight to the job description. On Monday, the President addressed the lingering need for more legislation in line with the controversial 2010 Dodd Frank law. The President called upon regulators to move forward with much of the regulatory reform cited in the law that has been slow to develop. Only 40 percent of the new Dodd-Frank regulations have been implemented and some of the bill’s most protective regulations remain in flux, tied up between five groups of regulators who cannot agree on policy.
On Monday, the President called upon the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to more aggressively overhaul regulations and ensure protection against another meltdown similar to 2008.
The beleaguered Consumer Protection Agency has been leaderless since its inception. In July, the Senate finally confirmed long-time candidate Richard Cordray to lead the agency, which is charged with reforming a host of consumer credit products, including mortgages.
However, the new Fed czar will have to add tighter regulation to its list of primary responsibilities. For the past 5 years, Chairman Bernanke has concentrated upon jobs and inflation. With Obama’s new mandate, regulation will be a top priority. This announcement may give some insight into who the President favors to replace Bernanke.
Summers vs. Yellen
As the world watches this drama play out, the minutes from the last meeting are due out tomorrow. The Federal Reserve is also meeting this week at Jackson Hole. What markets want to know is when tapering will commence and to what extent. The lack of definition has created shifts in emerging economy currency markets and propped up British sterling and the euro.
However, global equity markets are uneasy fearing that money will become tighter in the world’s largest economy. Fiscal conservatives say a pullback from current stimulus spending is overdue. Less conservative economists believe there is nothing to fear and the Fed should continue its aggressive buying policy.
Conservatives are at peace with inflation and are content with the slow job growth. More liberal economists believe inflation is under control and there is no reason to halt bond buying until employment shows significant progress.
In the backdrop to the Summers – Yellen selection, the Federal Reserve will be closely watching the September bank stress tests. A spokesperson for the Fed said on Monday; “Large bank holding companies have considerably improved their capital planning processes in recent years, but have more work to do.” When the stress tests were applied in 2013, 18 banks were scrutinized. Beginning in September, 12 additional banks with assets of more than $50 billion will be added. In the round of testing concluded in March, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were reprimanded. The spokesperson said that although 14 banks met Federal Reserve expectations, there were consistent issues with modeling techniques.
As the President considers the two possible new Fed leaders, Summers clearly has a higher profile than Yellen. However, many of Summers’ decisions and policies have been controversial and he has pulled back from many of his positions prior to the recession. Obama’s Monday declaration that regulation is an important part of the Federal Reserve may well shift the momentum to Yellen.
Summers, who served as Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, played an important role in overturning Glass-Seagall, which had restrictions between commercial and investment banking. This lack of regulation gave birth to the aggressive investment banking policies that helped create the financial meltdown and allowed for the creation of “Too Big To Fail “ banks.
Summers also supported a lack of regulation of the swaps market. The opposition allowed for the explosion of derivatives that were major causes in the collapse of the country’s financial institutions. Summers resisted and in fact is on record as scoffing at concerns that abuses in derivatives were putting the nation’s investment banks at risk.
Since 2009, Summers has reversed direction in keeping with Obama’s response to the challenges. As a trusted Obama adviser, Summers may have an inside track but his political history is muddled and unclear. Obama has consistently stated that regulators should not be politically connected. It would be difficult to distance Summers from politics.
During her tenure as President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, Yellen saw the housing collapse coming before the actual meltdown. She spoke publicly about the risks and the exposure of the nation’s banks. Yellen warned that banks should be required to raise their capital requirements. As Vice Chair, Yellen has continued to call for higher standards.
If Obama can separate the politics from the mission at hand, Yellen appears the highly qualified choice. From a consistent policy standpoint and as an early advocate of tighter financial regulation, Yellen should be the candidate to take the reins from Bernanke. The possibility of her appointment and the undefined tapering policy are adding edge to the markets.
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