Cleveland Federal Reserve appoints former Goldman Sachs executive as next president

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The Cleveland Federal Reserve has appointed Beth Hammack, Goldman Sachs’s former head of global lending, to replace departing president and chief executive Loretta Mester later this year.

The 52-year-old Hammack, who will have a vote on the Federal Open Market Committee when she joins in August, left Goldman three months ago after a 30-year career at the bank.

“It is a great privilege to serve the fourth district, and the country, in fulfilling our mission of fostering a strong, stable economy in which all Americans have the opportunity to prosper,” Hammack said on Tuesday.

Although Hammack has said little publicly about monetary policy, Mester was among the centrists on the FOMC and supported three cuts this year in the Fed’s March projections.

The federal funds target range is at a 23-year high of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

The Cleveland Fed said Hammack had worked closely with US policymakers as chair of the Treasury borrowing advisory committee and as a member of the financial research advisory committee and the Treasury market practices group.

Heidi Gartland, chair of the presidential search committee and the Cleveland Fed’s board of directors, said: “Beth has a deep understanding of financial markets and the monetary policy transmission process, expertise in leading complex business lines, and a proven commitment to mission-focused work.”

Hammack joined Goldman in 1993 and became partner in 2010. She sat on the bank’s powerful management committee as co-head of the financing group.

As one of the most senior women working at the bank, her exit prompted questions about the Wall Street group’s treatment of top female talent. She was passed over for the chief financial officer job in 2021.

So many of the bank’s former employees have taken positions in government after leaving the group over the years that it is known by the nickname “Government Sachs”.

Hammack will take office on August 21, almost two months after Mester’s departure on June 30. Cleveland Fed first vice-president Mark Meder will serve as interim president and chief executive, joining the FOMC for the July policy vote.

Hammack said: “I look forward to meeting the people who work and live in the fourth district, both as their representative on the FOMC and as their neighbour. I cannot wait to lead the bank’s talented team, who deliver every day on our important mission.”