US president Joe Biden has nominated Jerome Powell for a second four-year term at the helm of the country’s central bank.

The move ends speculation on whether he would put forward a Democrat, Lael Brainard, for the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve but a statement confirmed she was to be nominated for the vice-chair position instead.

The president was tipped to face a struggle to get a top job nod for Dr Brainard, a current Fed governor, over the line because of likely opposition in the Senate.

Mr Powell was appointed in 2018 by then-president Trump and faced constant criticism from him until the COVID crisis demanded interest rate cuts, something the Trump White House had long demanded before the public health emergency.

Mr Biden said on Monday: “While there’s still more to be done, we’ve made remarkable progress over the last 10 months in getting Americans back to work and getting our economy moving again.

“That success is a testament to the economic agenda I’ve pursued and to the decisive action that the Federal Reserve has taken under Chair Powell and Dr Brainard to help steer us through the worst downturn in modern American history and put us on the path to recovery.

“As I’ve said before, we can’t just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better, and I’m confident that Chair Powell and Dr Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before.”

Energy firm Bulb on brink of collapse amid government talks with creditor

Holidaymakers urged to spend £132m of unspent COVID crisis credit notes before protection ends

UK left with ‘branch line economy’ after years of neglect in left-behind parts of country – CBI

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, who was Fed chair until Mr Trump replaced her with Mr Powell, said of his nomination: “Over the past few years, Chair Powell has provided strong leadership at the Federal Reserve to effectively meet and address unexpected economic and financial challenges, and I am pleased our economy will continue to benefit from his stewardship.

“Lael is a respected economist with years of experience and has been instrumental in the nation’s recovery.”

Shares in US banks rose on Monday in the wake of the announcement.

Kevin Fromer, chief executive of the Financial Services Forum which represents the largest eight US banks and their CEOs, offered congratulations to Mr Powell and Dr Brainard.

“We expect regulators will continue to hold the largest banks to the high regulatory and supervisory standards that have remained in place to support a resilient and essential part of the US financial system,” he said.

Related posts:

Lloyds profits boosted as it claws back £459m set aside to cover COVID-19 losses Good news for famous food company and how COVID boosted business for pet shop giant Nike says it dropped Neymar after he refused to cooperate in sexual assault probe Staycation frenzy goes on as Park Holidays owners mull sale Rolls-Royce clinches £1.5bn sale of ITP Aero division Calls for key workers to be prioritised for fuel – but who should be front of the queue? Questions arise over Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s £2bn youth jobs scheme Bleak Black Friday for high street? Bargain-hunters went elsewhere, data shows Punch Pubs shareholders prepare to toast £1bn Fortress bid COVID staff shortages, foreign takeovers shake-up and an alcohol-free brewery £862m credit card splurge in November as consumers shopped early for Christmas Former Deloitte restructuring chiefs swoop on KPMG offshore arm