Senators on both sides of the panel are likely to ask how Bowman plans to comply with an executive order that curbs the power of independent agencies, and are eager to hear how she will approach a plan that would require the country’s largest lenders to hold significantly more capital to buffer against losses and a financial crisis.
She has been a sharp critic of that landmark bank capital proposal, which was initially unveiled in 2023.
Bowman emphasized in prepared remarks that there have been shortcomings in supervision and the US regulatory framework has become overly complicated.
“If confirmed, I will prioritize reforming and refocusing supervision, restoring regulatory tailoring, ensuring a viable path for innovation in the banking system, and promoting transparency and accountability,” Bowman said.
Bowman is expected to support a lighter touch on banking regulation than her predecessor, Michael Barr, who resigned from the role earlier this year. She has frequently called for more “tailored” regulation and will likely get questions from Republicans about how far she intends to go to ensure bank lending policies better fit the risk of financial firms. Her views on the Fed’s bank-merger policies, its enforcement strategy as well as her approach to supervision will also be under scrutiny.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott said last month that Bowman has been an “important voice” in pushing back on certain rules and brings a “unique skillset” to the vice chair for supervision role.
The top Democrat on the panel, Senator Elizabeth Warren, is set to grill the Fed nominee over a range of issues, including her view on the relationship between President Donald Trump’s tariffs and their effect on the stability of the banking system.
“Pursuing Wall Street deregulation at a time of broad economic turmoil caused by President Trump’s clumsy approach to tariffs would be especially dangerous,” Warren said in a letter this week to Bowman seen by Bloomberg.
Warren is also set to focus on Bowman’s regulatory agenda that some say resembles many of Wall Street’s bank lobby objectives.
“During your six-and-a-half-year tenure on the Federal Reserve Board, you have prioritized the interests of Wall Street ahead of the needs of the nation’s hardworking families and small businesses. Time and again, you have been proven wrong when dismissing the risks to consumers and the financial system of your deregulatory worldview,” Warren said in the letter.
The Fed didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Warren’s letter.
Bowman is a fifth-generation banker who previously served as the state bank commissioner of Kansas and was a vice president at Farmers & Drovers Bank. Trump nominated her to become a member of the Fed’s board in 2018.
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US Federal Reserve, Michelle Bowman, Senate Banking Committee, banking regulation, Wall Street deregulation
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