Raskin Would Bring Much-Needed Understanding of Climate Risk to the Fed

Today, President Biden announced the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to be vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, the Fed's top regulator of Wall Street banks.

Raskin formerly served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and as United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under the Obama administration. She has been outspoken about the need for financial regulators to rein in Wall Street's contribution to the climate crisis and address the climate-related risks facing our economy. During his Senate confirmation hearing this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell affirmed that addressing climate in the supervision of the financial system would be a "very important priority over the coming years."

Following the renomination of Powell to serve as Chair and Lael Brainard to serve as Vice Chair in November, today Biden also rounded out his picks for the seven-member Board of Governors with the nominations of Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson. Cook and Jefferson are both highly qualified and experienced economists that would bring valuable and needed diversity to the Federal Reserve board, which has only had three Black members in its more than a century-long history.

In response, Sierra Club Fossil-Free Finance Campaign Representative Adele Shraiman released the following statement:

"There's no better pick for this critical role overseeing Wall Street than Sarah Bloom Raskin, who has made it clear that she understands the threat climate change poses to our financial system and knows how to take action to address it. Left unchecked, Wall Street's toxic investments in fossil fuels threaten to derail our economy and the families, retirees, and small businesses that depend on it. Raskin is an excellent choice to rein in Wall Street's risky behavior and protect the stability of our financial system. Along with the historic nominations of Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson, President Biden is helping to reshape the Federal Reserve for years to come to build a stronger, more sustainable economy. The Senate should move quickly to confirm all of these qualified nominees."