WASHINGTON – The board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York selected William Dudley on Tuesday as its president and chief executive.
Mr. Dudley, who has worked at the New York Fed since January 2007, takes the reins at a time when the central bank's outpost on Wall Street is crucial. The Federal Reserve Board has allowed the New York Fed to take the lead on many of the lending programs established to curb the financial crisis.
Mr. Dudley succeeds Timothy Geithner, who was sworn in late Monday as Treasury Secretary. Mr. Dudley's background is largely in monetary policy but in a press release Tuesday he acknowledged the need for regulatory reform.
"The New York Fed, standing at the critical intersection of the financial markets and the banking system, has a leading role to play in assisting in the reform of the architecture of the U.S. and global financial system to ensure that what has transpired over the past year can never occur again," he said.
Before joining the New York Fed, Mr. Dudley was a partner and managing director of Goldman Sachs & Co. and was the bank's chief U.S. economist for a decade. He has also worked as a vice president at Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. and was an economist at the Fed in Washington.
"The board is very pleased with the selection of Bill Dudley," Stephen Friedman, the chairman of the New York Fed's board and its search committee. "His deep economics background, extensive working knowledge of the markets and hands-on policy making role make him an outstanding choice to succeed Tim Geithner."
