Raphael Bostic was named president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve, becoming the first African-American regional president in the central bank’s history. Bostic, a former policymaker in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a professor at the University of Southern California.
Raphael Bostic, Atlanta Federal Reserve
He will become the Atlanta Fed’s 15th president and takes office June 5. He will be on the Fed’s powerful committee that determines interest rates. Bostic will have a vote on the Fed’s rotating committee in 2018.
Bostic was hired by the board of the Atlanta Federal Reserve. It’s unclear how much influence Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who leads the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, had in the hiring process.
His appointment comes after Yellen was heavily criticized by congressional leaders last year for the central bank’s lack of diversity.
