Randal Quarles
Randal Keith Quarles | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney, private equity investor, government official |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | Inaugural Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve (2017–2021); Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (2018–2021); Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance (2001–2006) |
Randal Keith Quarles (born September 1957) is an American attorney and private equity investor who served as the inaugural Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve from 2017 through 2021. Additionally, he held the position of chairman at the Financial Stability Board between 2018 and 2021.
Between August 2001 and October 2006, Quarles occupied significant financial policy roles within the George W. Bush administration, ultimately serving as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance. Following this period, he established and led The Cynosure Group, a private investment company, and was a managing director at The Carlyle Group, one of the largest global private equity firms. By 2012, Quarles was often cited as a potential candidate for Treasury Secretary or senior advisor roles in Republican-led governments.
In July 2017, President Donald Trump nominated him to join the Federal Reserve Board and assume the Vice Chair for Supervision role. The Senate confirmed his appointment on October 5, 2017, with a vote tally of 65–32. This supervisory position was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act but had remained unfilled until his confirmation. Quarles stepped down from his Vice Chair responsibilities and retired from the Federal Reserve in 2021.
Early life and education
Quarles was born in San Francisco and grew up in Roy, Utah. He graduated from Roy High School in 1975. He earned a BA summa cum laude in philosophy and economics from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1981, which included a two-year missionary service for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Quebec. He subsequently received his JD from Yale Law School in 1984.
Early career
Following graduation from Yale, Quarles joined the Wall Street law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, focusing on financial institutions law. His tenure was primarily based in New York, with a period spent in London between 1987 and 1989. He eventually co-led the firm's Financial Institutions Group and provided counsel on major mergers within the financial sector.
George H.W. Bush administration
In 1990, Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady appointed Quarles to tackle issues related to the savings and loan crisis and to reform financial regulations. He served as Special Assistant to the Treasury Secretary for Banking Legislation and later as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy before returning to Davis Polk & Wardwell in 1993.
George W. Bush administration
Quarles rejoined the Treasury Department in 2001 at the invitation of Secretary Paul O'Neill, serving until the mid-term elections of 2006. During this period, he acted as a senior official under three Treasury Secretaries, influencing a wide range of domestic and international financial policies.
In his role as Under Secretary, Quarles directed policies concerning financial sectors and capital markets. He coordinated efforts through the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, formulated administration strategies on hedge funds and derivatives, spearheaded regulatory reforms targeting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and advocated for comprehensive reforms of the United States' financial regulatory architecture.
He was a principal proponent for enhanced regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac due to their systemic risk implications and championed extending federal oversight to include investment banks and insurance companies to improve risk management frameworks.
From April 2002 until August 2005, Quarles held the position of Assistant Secretary for International Affairs. In this capacity, he played a leading role in addressing Chinese currency policies, managing the Argentine debt default crisis, supporting economic reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, and advancing sovereign debt reform initiatives. He also chaired the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), supervising investments with national security implications, and negotiated significant debt relief agreements for impoverished nations at the 2005 G7 summit.
Between August 2001 and April 2002, Quarles served as U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, representing American interests amid financial crises affecting Argentina and Turkey.
Earlier during his tenure at Treasury, he coordinated responses to international crises involving Argentina, Brazil, Turkey, and Uruguay. He led initiatives to introduce collective action clauses facilitating sovereign debt restructuring processes and advocated for improved international coordination on financial regulation through dialogues with European Union counterparts and participation in the Financial Stability Forum.
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson acknowledged Quarles's broad contributions—from addressing sovereign debt challenges to terrorism risk insurance reforms and Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) reform—by awarding him the Alexander Hamilton Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by the Treasury Department.
Carlyle Group
After his tenure at the Treasury Department, Quarles joined the Carlyle Group, a prominent private equity firm, where he concentrated on expanding its involvement in financial services deals.
Cynosure Group
Subsequent to his role at Carlyle, Quarles took charge of the Cynosure Group, overseeing asset management for the Eccles family—his wife's relatives—and other clients. The Eccles family includes distinguished individuals like David Eccles, recognized as Utah’s first multimillionaire, and his son Marriner Stoddard Eccles, who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve's main building bears Marriner Eccles’s name.
Federal Reserve Board
On July 10, 2017, President Donald Trump put forward Quarles’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for a term concluding in 2018, along with a separate 14-year term set to expire in 2032. Additionally, he was nominated to become the inaugural Vice Chair for Supervision—a role established by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 but left vacant until then.
The United States Senate confirmed Quarles on October 5, 2017, for the open seat ending in 2018 by a vote of 65–32 and approved his appointment as Vice Chair for Supervision through a voice vote. Although his nomination for the full 14-year term was initially returned to the President, he was subsequently renominated and confirmed on July 17, 2018, with a 66–33 vote.
Throughout his service, Quarles advocated for regulatory adjustments that deferred moving banks into more stringent supervisory categories. This included delaying Silicon Valley Bank’s transition to enhanced oversight until it consistently surpassed $100 billion in assets.
Quarles stepped down from the Federal Reserve Board in December 2021 after concluding his Vice Chair for Supervision responsibilities in October of that year.
Personal life
Quarles is married to Hope Eccles, daughter of Utah businessman Spencer Eccles, thereby connecting him to the influential Eccles family known for their significant presence in finance. He is also affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In November 2017, Quarles was identified by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in their "Paradise Papers" investigation, linking him to an offshore financial institution under examination for potential tax evasion. The documents disclosed transactions involving one of Quarles’s offshore entities and Butterfield Bank, which played a role in The Carlyle Group’s $550 million investment back in 2010.
In May 2025, Quarles was named vice chairman of Singapore Gulf Bank’s global advisory board, underscoring his sustained impact within international financial networks.