Republican Senators Seek to Limit Scale and Power of Fed Banks
- Bill would reduce number of regional Fed banks to five from 12
- Toomey wants regional Fed leaders presidentially appointed
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US Senator Pat Toomey and other Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that would more than halve the number of Federal Reserve regional banks and add more political oversight to the selection process for bank presidents.
The GOP bill would make presidents of regional Fed banks presidentially appointed positions that need to be confirmed by the Senate, similar to the process for Fed board governors. It would also reduce the number of regional banks to five from 12 and add stronger requirements meant to boost geographic diversity among Fed governors and regional Fed presidents.