marketwatch.com
Kelley to quit Fed when vacancy filled
Reagan-appointee's term would have ended in 2004
By Rachel Koning, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 2:25 PM ET June 4, 2001
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Federal Reserve Board Gov. Edward Kelley, Jr. announced Monday that he would resign from his post as soon as one of two already vacant positions on the central bank panel is filled.
"After fourteen highly rewarding years of service ... I want to focus on family and other interests," said the 69-year-old Kelley in a statement.
He will continue to work in his current capacity until President George W. Bush fills at least one of the holes on the seven-member board. The Fed has had two open slots since July 1999, when Clinton-appointee Alice Rivlin left to join the Brookings Institution.
The Board of Governors acts as a banking supervisor, meets with key international finance leaders on global policy and is also charged with setting interest-rate policy.
The group next holds a key interest-rate meeting on June 26-27. Members of the Board of Governors always vote on interest-rate policy, while regional bank presidents participate on the rate-setting panel on a rotating basis.
It is probable that Kelley will participate in the late-June policy meeting.
Kelley said he will submit a formal letter of resignation to the president when "an additional governor has been nominated and confirmed, and is at work at the Board."
Kelley was first appointed by former President Ronald Reagan in 1987 to fulfill a term left vacant by a departing central banker. Former President George Bush reappointed Kelley in 1990 and Kelley was currently serving in that term, to expire in January 2004.
"Governor Kelley is a man of the highest principle," Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said in a statement. "I will miss his wise counsel."
Kelley, who was born Eugene, Ore., was a long-time Houston businessman. Before joining the Fed, he was chairman of Investment Advisors, Inc.
Previously, he was president and CEO of Kelley Industries, a Houston-based holding company with subsidiaries in manufacturing, distribution and business services.
Rachel Koning is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
