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Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A top Federal Reserve banking regulator announced Friday that he will retire in a few weeks -- opening a vacancy for President Donald Trump to shape regulations imposed on Wall Street. Fed governor Daniel Tarullo told Trump in a letter Friday that he plans to leave his position on or about April 5. Appointed by former President Barack Obama, Tarullo was a chief architect responsible for managing banking regulations after the financial crisis.
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"After more than eight years as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, I intend to resign my position on or around April 5, 2017," the letter stated. "It has been a great privilege to work with former Chairman [Ben] Bemanke and Chair [Janet] Yellen during such a challenging period for the nation's economy and financial system."
Tarullo's term isn't set to expire until 2022 but he said Friday he has been thinking about leaving early for a long time -- even before Trump was elected in November.
He told the Wall Street Journal that he was not asked to leave by the Trump administration.
The departure of Tarullo, 64, offers Trump an opportunity to make good on his plans for deregulation on Wall Street -- an agenda he has already taken action on. Last week, he issued an executive order to review and rewrite the Dodd-Frank act, which imposed new regulations in 2010 following the financial crisis.
"Tarullo is arguably one of the most powerful U.S. banking regulators since Alexander Hamilton," Ed Mills, a policy analyst at FBR Capital Markets, said.
"Tarullo was the most consequential figure in financial regulation in the Dodd-Frank era," Ian Katz, analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, said. "We can't even think of who would be in second place."
