Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer to step down

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, second in command at the Federal Reserve, announced his retirement Wednesday.

In a resignation letter to President Donald Trump, Fischer, 73, cited personal reasons for his departure, which he scheduled for Oct. 13. His term would have expired in June 2018.

"During my time on the Board, the economy has continued to strengthen, providing millions of additional jobs for working Americans. We have built upon earlier steps to make the financial system stronger and more resilient," he wrote.

Fischer was a vice president of Citibank, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, chief economist of the World Bank, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and governor of the Bank of Israel, before President Barack Obama appointed him to the Federal Reserve in 2014.

"Fischer was the voice of experience, having been a central banker and his international standing was impeccable," JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief U.S. Economist Michael Feroli told Bloomberg News. "It adds a further element of uncertainty to policy and who will be running policy early next year. It adds to the cloudiness of the outlook for monetary policy."

With his departure, four of the Federal Reserve Board's seven seats will be vacant, and Fed Chair Janet Yellen's term expires in February. Trump nominated Randal Quarles, a senior Treasury Department official under George W. Bush, for one board seat. Quarles' approval in the Senate is still pending.

"He represented the Board internationally with distinction and led our efforts to foster financial stability," Yellen said in a release Wednesday.