Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee said Congress should weigh an overhaul of the U.S. Federal Reserve Regional Bank system and consider consolidating regional banks that are “wandering” into issues such as climate change.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced that Susan Collins, an economist currently at the University of Michigan, will be its new president, marking the first time a Black woman will lead one of the U.S. central bank’s 12 districts.

Stablecoins are unlikely to be the future of payments despite their growing market value in the last two years, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York blog post.

The work of creating a possible digital dollar inched ahead Thursday with research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston into the code that could eventually support such a currency.

The White House's pick for vice chair for supervision, Sarah Bloom Raskin, took the brunt of criticism from Republicans on Thursday. But it seemed to do little to sow doubt among the Senate Banking Committee's moderate Democrats about Raskin or fellow nominees Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson.

Republicans have knocked Sarah Bloom Raskin as too liberal on climate change and Lisa Cook as underqualified ahead of a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday. Meanwhile, a Democratic senator's illness threatens to stall nomination votes in the full chamber.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin praised all five of President Biden's nominees for the Federal Reserve, an important signal for their confirmations in the 50-50 Senate.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was ready to raise interest rates in March and didn’t rule out moving at every meeting to tackle the highest inflation in a generation.

Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking panel, questioned the backgrounds of President Biden’s Federal Reserve picks amid a brewing conflict over diversity at the central bank and its role in dealing with climate change.

U.S. bank stocks are headed for their worst losing streak in a year, burning investors who bought shares on expectations that the Federal Reserve raising rates for the first time since 2018 would boost the sector.

The Federal Reserve Board would become far more diverse if Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook are confirmed by the Senate. Jefferson and Cook are respected economists seen as likely to get the nod, but Republicans will challenge Raskin's assertions that bank regulators can play a vital role in combating climate change.

President Biden will nominate Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for Supervision and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to be governors. The selections keep a Biden promise to improve diversity at the Fed.

Fed Gov. Lael Brainard, President Biden's nominee for Federal Reserve vice chair, sought to assure GOP members of the Senate Banking Committee she favors a more limited supervisory approach that would help larger banks identify pockets of risk in their loan portfolios.

Jerome Powell sought to strike a political balance at his reconfirmation hearing. He assured Republicans the Federal Reserve wouldn't overstep its authority on bank mergers and other matters, while telling Democrats the central bank has a responsibility to monitor financial stability and the risks of climate change.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida intends to resign from the board of governors on Jan. 14, two weeks before his term is due to expire.

Central bankers need to speak up about economic barriers prompted by racism and the need for inclusion and diversity, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said, a response to critics who see the work as a distraction from the Fed’s main goals. 

Sarah Bloom Raskin, reportedly the Biden administration's top candidate for vice chair of supervision, would toughen the Federal Reserve's stances on the role of banks in combating climate change, capital requirements, the Volcker Rule and other policy areas, experts say.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold separate hearings next week for Jerome Powell on his nomination to a second term as Federal Reserve chair and for Lael Brainard’s elevation to vice chair.

The guessing game is over about President Biden’s pick for Federal Reserve chair, but several names are in the mix for three additional vacancies on the board, including vice chair for supervision.

The Senate Banking Committee is considering hearings as early as December on the nominations of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a second term as leader of the nation’s central bank and the elevation of Fed Gov. Lael Brainard to become vice chair.