Published : Aug. 1, 2013 - 20:20
WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama is nominating a member of the Federal Reserve board, Sarah Bloom Raskin, to the second-highest position at the Treasury Department.
The White House said Wednesday that Obama has asked Raskin to serve as deputy Treasury secretary. If confirmed by the Senate she would succeed Neal Wolin, who has announced that he plans to leave Treasury at the end of August.
Wolin was a key player in the administration’s effort to get Congress to pass a comprehensive overhaul of the financial regulatory system in 2010. Raskin, who previously served as the top banking regulator for the state of Maryland, was expected to deal with financial regulatory issues as part of her new job at Treasury.
Sarah Bloom Raskin. (Bloomberg)
In a statement, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew praised Raskin for her “deep understanding of banking and financial regulatory issues” and her commitment to consumer protection.
Raskin is expected to remain at the Fed while her nomination for the Treasury post is being considered by the Senate.
Raskin’s departure comes after fellow board member Elizabeth Duke announced she will step down next month, giving Obama two vacancies on the seven-member Fed board.
Once Duke and Raskin are gone, Vice Chair Janet Yellen would be the only woman on the Fed board. Yellen is considered a leading candidate to succeed Ben Bernanke when his term as Fed chairman ends next year.