MNI BRIEF: Senate Approves Fed Nominee Barr As Top Bank Cop

The Senate confirmed Michael Barr to the Federal Reserve Board and as its top banking regulator on Wednesday, a role in which he is likely to bolster some rules that were eased during the Trump administration.

Barr, a former senior Treasury Department official, was approved in a Senate vote of 66 to 28, and will join as the seventh and last member of the Fed's Board. As Biden's pick to be the Fed's Vice Chair for Supervision, Barr's to-do list includes bringing inflation back down to 2% and will likely include revisiting rules for banks that were eased under his predecessor, Randal Quarles. Plans could include examining capital and liquidity regulation as a complete picture, rather than piecemeal.

Barr is also expected to use the role to step up efforts on issues such as climate change risk, fintech and cryptocurrencies.