US Fed Governor Randal Quarles to step down in December

WASHINGTON -- US Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles said on Monday that he would resign from the central bank at the end of December.

"After more than four years as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and given the completion last month of my term as Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Board, I intend to resign my position as a Governor of the Federal Reserve during or around the last week of December of this year," Quarles said in a letter to US President Joe Biden.

"It has been a great privilege to work with my colleagues on the Board, throughout the Federal Reserve System, and among the global central banking and regulatory community," he said.

The Fed said in a statement that Quarles has played a "central role" in ensuring the safe operation of both the domestic and international financial systems during the stress of the COVID-19 event.

Prior to his appointment to the Fed board in October 2017, Quarles was founder and managing director of The Cynosure Group, a private investment firm. He also served in a variety of senior positions at the US Treasury Department and was US executive director at the International Monetary Fund.

The resignation came as Biden is expected to announce whether he will renominate Fed Chair Jerome Powell as soon as this week, according to the media. Powell's four-year term as Fed chief ends in February.