Sign in Subscribe
Chairpersons

Obama Nominates Allan Landon to Federal Reserve Board Amid Calls for Community Banking Experience

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Allan Landon, the former CEO of Bank of Hawaii Corp., has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a governor on the Federal Reserve Board. Landon's nomination comes as the Federal Reserve is nearing a turning point in monetary policy, with officials expecting to start raising interest rates this year for the first time since 2006. The nomination is seen as a response to industry and Senate pressure to select a policymaker with community banking experience, as the Fed has not had a community banker on its board since Governor Elizabeth Duke retired in August 2013.

Key Takeaways:

  • Allan Landon, former CEO of Bank of Hawaii Corp., has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be a governor on the Federal Reserve Board.
  • Landon's nomination comes as the Fed is nearing a turning point in monetary policy, with officials expecting to start raising interest rates for the first time since 2006.
  • The nomination is seen as a response to industry and Senate pressure to select a policymaker with community banking experience.
  • Landon was chairman and CEO of Bank of Hawaii from 2004 to 2010, and has experience in community banking, having led the bank weather the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Landon has been endorsed by the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group representing over 6,500 community banks.
  • The nomination must be approved by the Senate Banking Committee, which is likely to be led by Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican.
  • Landon has made political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats, including former President George W. Bush and Representative Brad Sherman, a California Democrat.
  • Bank of Hawaii has ties to Obama's family, as the president's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, served as a vice president at the bank and left him Bank of Hawaii stock, which he sold in 2009 for up to $500,000.
  • Landon, a graduate of Iowa State University, is already active in other Washington-area institutions, serving on the Smithsonian National Board and on the Public Broadcasting Service board.

Statistics:

  • The Federal Reserve has had two vacancies since the departure of governors Sarah Bloom Raskin in March and Jeremy Stein in May.
  • The Fed Board has traditionally had a community banker or supervisor, but that role has not been filled since Governor Elizabeth Duke retired in August 2013.
  • Bank of Hawaii has $14.6 billion in assets, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
  • Landon agreed to resign as a director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle in 2005, after an internal report accused him and another director of acting improperly in relation to stock redemptions.

Sources:

  • White House statement
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data
  • Securities and Exchange Commission filings
  • Independent Community Bankers of America
  • Federal Election Commission records
  • Forbes magazine
  • Ernst & Young LLP
  • Community BanCapital
  • MidFirst Bank of Oklahoma
  • University of Hawaii
  • University of Utah
  • Federal Reserve
  • Smithsonian National Board
  • Public Broadcasting Service board
  • Senate Banking Committee
  • House of Representatives
  • Financial-disclosure documents

Read more