(Bloomberg) — Michael Barr was confirmed by the US Senate on Wednesday as the top bank watchdog at the Federal Reserve, allowing President Joe Biden to further put his stamp on Wall Street oversight.
Barr, a former senior Treasury Department official who played a key role in shaping the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, received bipartisan support for the job, with a 66-28 vote. The Federal Reserve vice chair for supervision position has been vacant since late last year.
As the Fed’s chief bank overseer, Barr will be expected to quickly step up day-to-day oversight of the nation’s largest lenders. He’ll also help develop financial regulatory policies for cryptocurrencies and combating climate change — a top priority for the White House.
The central bank’s authority to fight global warming has been a sticking point with Republicans who opposed Biden’s first nominee for the post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, over her past comments on the matter. During his May confirmation hearing, Barr successfully assuaged several GOP lawmakers by saying that the Fed didn’t have the right to tell banks not to lend to the oil and gas industry.
Beyond climate issues, Barr faces pressure from progressive Democrats to ramp up enforcement and supervision of big banks. Wall Street is also watching closely for the Fed to propose new capital standards.
While Barr said during his confirmation hearing that he didn’t think the Fed had the ability to ban mergers across the board, he’s expected to be more reticent to sign off on mergers. The deals have become political lightning rods and Democrats argue that more scrutiny is needed, particularly for combinations of larger regional banks.
Barr had been floated early in the Biden administration as a possible candidate to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, but some vocal progressives arose in opposition.
A lawyer, Barr is currently dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. With his confirmation, the Fed will have a full Board of Governors again after almost a decade.
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