Jefferies’ Zervos Says Fed Not Independent, Powell Left-Leaning

A potential candidate to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, David Zervos, said that it’s inaccurate to describe the US central bank as independent, and characterized the outgoing Fed chief as aligned with the political left.

“The Fed has never been independent, and the political pressures on the Fed have always been growing and continue to grow,” Zervos, chief market strategist at the investment bank Jefferies, said on CNBC. He highlighted pressure from Democratic lawmakers in recent years on monetary policymakers to lower interest rates.