The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announced Monday that Raphael Bostic will be its 15th president and CEO effective starting June 5.
Bostic, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California and former assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be the first African-American president of one of the Federal Reserve’s 12 regional banks.
Bostic will replace Dennis Lockhart, who retired Feb. 28.
The Federal Reserve has often been criticized for its lack of diversity. A report released in February of 2016 by the left-leaning advocacy group Center for Popular Democracy and the Fed Up campaign found that 83 percent of Federal Reserve board members are white, compared with 63 percent of the population overall. Men made up nearly three quarters of all board members.
“These key decision-making bodies remain dramatically unbalanced and unrepresentative of the vast majority of people who participate in the economy,” the report said.
Critics say the imbalance is particularly notable since the economic conditions that the Fed is charged with managing are often much harsher for minorities. The unemployment rate for African-Americans was 8.1 percent in February, compared with 4.1 percent for whites and 5.6 percent for Hispanics. Minorities were disproportionately affected by the financial crisis, experiencing higher rates of subprime loans and foreclosures.
In testimony to Congress in February, Fed chair Janet Yellen reiterated that unemployment rates remain much higher for African-Americans and Hispanics. “A strong labor market does improve the situation of vulnerable minorities, although it is as I mentioned disturbing that such large disparities continue to exist,” she said.
In a statement Monday, Shawn Sebastian, the co-director of the Fed Up coalition, congratulated Bostic on his appointment. “Not only will Prof. Bostic be the first African-American and first openly gay Federal Reserve president in the history of the institution, but he is an exceptionally well-qualified economist and public servant who has dedicated his career to studying and combating racial, economic, and social inequity,” Sebastian said.
Bostic previously worked in the Federal Reserve as an economist in the monetary and financial studies section from 1995 to 2011. The Atlanta Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks. It oversees a district encompassing Alabama, Florida, George and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post ยท Ana Swanson
