St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is stepping down

New York CNN

James Bullard, the St. Louis Federal Reserve president announced on Thursday that he will be stepping down in mid-August.

Bullard stated in a Thursday afternoon statement that it was a privilege and honor to have been a part of the St. Louis Fed over the past 33 years. He also served as its president during the last 15 years.

Bullard will leave Purdue University on August 14, to become the first dean of Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School for Business.

Last year, the regional bank's head voted crucially on the Fed committee that makes interest rate decisions. This was when the Fed started its rate-hiking program. Bullard was a Fed hawk, a member who favored rate increases and kept inflation low over all else. In March 2022, he was the only member who voted for a rate increase of half a point. At that meeting, the remaining 11 members voted in favor of a quarter point rate hike.

Four regional bank presidents, with the exception of New York Fed's president, serve rotating one-year terms as members of the Federal Open Market Committee. Seven Fed Board of Governors members, including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, have permanent voting rights.

Bullard, who has completed his term in 2022, did not vote this year on monetary policy and will not be attending the July 25-26 meeting of the Central Bank. Bullard was to have been an alternate voting member of the central bank in 2024.

Kathleen O'Neill Paese was confirmed by the board of the St. Louis Fed on Thursday and took over Bullard's duties in the interim.

The St. Louis Fed announced that it has hired a 'national executive search firm' in order to identify Bullard’s permanent successor.

Bullard's move is part of Purdue's effort to revamp the business school. It was renamed last year after a $10-million donation.