“I think circumstances call for a lively discussion next week”, Lockhart said in a speech Monday to the National Association for Business Economics.
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“Notwithstanding a few recent weak monthly reports – from the Institute for Supply Management, for example – I am satisfied at this point that conditions warrant that serious discussion”, Lockhart said Monday in Atlanta.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart repeated his call for a “serious discussion” about raising interest rates at the USA central bank’s meeting later this month, even after some recent disappointing economic indicators.
Under Fed rules Lockhart, 69, will reach a mandatory retirement point after completing his 10th year as head of the bank.
If a successor is not named by Lockhart’s departure date, Marie Gooding, the bank’s first vice president and COO, will assume the duties of president on an interim basis. Chair of the board of the Atlanta Fed Thomas Fanning will lead a search committee to find Lockhart’s replacement. The Bank has retained Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm, to assist in this important effort. But his comments have been more hawkish this year. Some officials have anxious that persistently weak growth and low inflation will require a fundamental rethinking of the Fed’s strategy, and Lockhart’s replacement will confront deep ideological differences among the central bank’s top ranks.
There is no set timetable for naming a new president.
Just ahead of taking the reins at the Atlanta Fed, Mr. Lockhart taught at Georgetown University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
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Sebastian said the Fed Up campaign, a coalition of labor unions and community activists, would be pushing for the Atlanta bank’s search committee to publicly disclose the candidates it has under consideration and ensure that there are opportunities for the public to participate in the process. The Fed’s 2015 annual report says the Atlanta Fed top position paid $346,600.
