Bessent flags ‘complicated’ Fed as key factor in chair pick

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that simplifying the Federal Reserve has emerged as a key criterion in selecting the next chair of the central bank, according to remarks made on CNBC Tuesday.

Summary

• Treasury Secretary Bessent noted the central bank has become “a very complicated operation.”
• Fed Governors Waller and Bowman, former Governor Warsh, NEC Director Hassett, and BlackRock’s Rieder are among the final five nominees.
• Bessent intends to make a potential nomination before Dec. 25.

Bessent said one of the criteria under consideration has been the interplay of the Fed’s various instruments, noting that the central bank “has become this very complicated operation,” according to the interview.

The Treasury Secretary indicated his final second-round interview with the five candidates to succeed Chair Jerome Powell would take place Tuesday, and reiterated that President Donald Trump may announce the nomination before Dec. 25.

The administration previously identified the finalists as Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and BlackRock Inc. Executive Rick Rieder.

Bessent: Fed’s reserves regime ‘might be fraying a bit’

The Federal Reserve currently maintains an ample reserves approach in controlling its policy interest rate, which involves holding a sizeable amount of Treasuries on its balance sheet. Under the current operating system, the central bank pays interest on reserves that banks park with it and on cash that money market funds temporarily place at the Fed.

Bessent said the Fed’s ample reserves regime “might be fraying a bit” in terms of whether reserves remain actually ample in the system, according to the CNBC interview.

Policymakers decided last month to halt the contraction of the Fed’s balance sheet as of Dec. 1 to ensure liquidity remains ample, according to the central bank. The Fed had been shrinking its portfolio since June 2022 after holdings of Treasuries and mortgage securities expanded during the COVID-19 crisis.

Bessent referenced multiple Fed facilities and operations, including standing repo facilities, stating that the central bank needs to simplify its operations, according to the interview. He did not specify how the central bank should overhaul its current operations.

The Standing Repo Facility allows eligible institutions to borrow cash in exchange for Treasury and agency debt. The facility reached $50.4 billion on Oct. 31, the highest level since the tool was made permanent in 2021, according to Fed data.