Randy Quarles

Randal Quarles
Born	Randal Kendall Quarles
Nationality	American
Occupation	Financial executive, lawyer, former government official
Title	Executive Chairman, Cynosure Group
Known for	Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve (2017–2021); Executive Chairman of Cynosure Group

Randal Kendall Quarles (commonly known as Randy Quarles) is an American lawyer, financial executive, and former government official who served as the first-ever Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a position he held from October 2017 until his resignation in December 2021. In that role, Quarles was the principal federal official responsible for overseeing the regulation and supervision of the United States banking system, a position created by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 financial crisis but left unfilled until his appointment by President Donald Trump. Before entering the Federal Reserve, Quarles built a career spanning private legal practice, investment management, and senior positions in the United States Department of the Treasury. Following his departure from the Fed, he became the executive chairman of the Cynosure Group, a private investment firm. Quarles has remained an active commentator on monetary policy, financial regulation, and the future of the Federal Reserve system.

Education

Quarles holds a law degree. A 2022 article published by the University of Chicago Law School identified him as an alumnus, referencing his connection to the institution in the context of a piece he authored about the Rose Bowl. In a 2025 interview with the Hoover Institution, Quarles discussed his early career as a lawyer, indicating that his legal training preceded and informed his subsequent work in public policy and finance.

Career

Early Legal and Policy Career

Before his appointment to the Federal Reserve, Quarles pursued a career that combined private legal practice with significant roles in public policy and government. He began his professional life as a lawyer, a foundation that would shape his approach to financial regulation and policy throughout his career. Over time, Quarles transitioned into positions within the United States Department of the Treasury, where he gained experience in fiscal and economic policy at the federal level. His background in law and Treasury service provided him with a dual perspective—understanding both the private financial sector and the governmental apparatus that regulates it—that would later prove central to his role at the Federal Reserve.

Nomination and Confirmation to the Federal Reserve

In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Quarles to serve as Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The position of Vice Chairman for Supervision had been created as part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 2010 in response to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Despite the position's creation, no president had filled it prior to Trump's nomination of Quarles, making him the first person to occupy the role.

The confirmation process proceeded through the United States Senate. On October 4, 2017, the Senate invoked cloture to begin the formal process of confirming Quarles to a seat on the Federal Reserve Board. The cloture vote represented a key procedural step, signaling that the Senate would move forward with a final confirmation vote. Shortly thereafter, the Senate confirmed Quarles as both a governor on the Federal Reserve Board and as the first Vice Chairman for Supervision.

The confirmation of Quarles was closely watched by the financial industry, regulatory observers, and lawmakers. As Vice Chairman for Supervision, Quarles would be responsible for developing policy recommendations for the Federal Reserve Board regarding supervision and regulation of depository institution holding companies and other financial firms supervised by the Board. The role gave him significant influence over the post-crisis regulatory framework that had been put in place through Dodd–Frank and related regulations.

Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve (2017–2021)

Quarles served as Vice Chairman for Supervision from his confirmation in October 2017 until his departure in December 2021, a tenure that spanned some of the most consequential periods in recent American economic history, including the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extraordinary monetary and fiscal policy responses it prompted.

During his time at the Federal Reserve, Quarles oversaw the regulation and supervision of the American banking system. His tenure was marked by efforts to recalibrate certain elements of the post-crisis regulatory framework. As the senior supervisory official at the Fed, he was involved in decisions regarding capital requirements, stress testing, and the overall regulatory approach to systemically important financial institutions.

Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 presented an unprecedented challenge to the Federal Reserve and to Quarles in his supervisory role. The Fed implemented extraordinary support measures to stabilize financial markets and the broader economy, including emergency lending facilities, asset purchases, and coordination with the Treasury Department on fiscal stimulus programs.

In December 2021, as he prepared to step down from his position, Quarles offered a retrospective assessment of the pandemic-era policy response. In remarks reported by the Financial Times, he struck a cautious tone about the unprecedented support provided at the onset of the pandemic, suggesting that while the initial interventions were necessary, the scale and duration of stimulus measures warranted careful reflection. In a memorable turn of phrase, Quarles discussed the trajectory from the first COVID stimulus measures to broader ambitions, referencing the "colonisation of Mars" as a metaphor for the expansive scope of policy ambitions that followed the initial crisis response.

These departing remarks attracted attention for their candor about the potential risks of sustained monetary accommodation and expansive government intervention, themes that would become increasingly prominent in economic policy debates in the years following his departure.

Departure from the Federal Reserve

Quarles stepped down as a Federal Reserve governor in December 2021. His four-year term as Vice Chairman for Supervision had expired in October 2021, but he continued to serve as a governor on the Board for a brief additional period before resigning. His departure marked the end of the first chapter of the Vice Chairman for Supervision position, a role that continued to be a focal point of debate over the appropriate scope and intensity of banking regulation in the United States.

Post-Federal Reserve Career: Cynosure Group

Following his departure from the Federal Reserve, Quarles became the executive chairman of the Cynosure Group, a private investment and advisory firm. In this capacity, he returned to the private sector, drawing on his extensive experience in government, law, and financial regulation.

In his role at Cynosure Group, Quarles has remained engaged in discussions about financial regulation, monetary policy, and the future of the Federal Reserve system. He has participated in policy forums, media interviews, and academic discussions on a range of economic and regulatory topics.

Public Commentary and Continued Influence

Since leaving the Federal Reserve, Quarles has become a prominent commentator on monetary policy, financial regulation, and related topics. His perspectives are informed by his direct experience at the highest levels of federal financial regulation and are sought by media outlets, academic institutions, and policy organizations.

In July 2022, Quarles appeared on the Macro Musings podcast hosted by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he discussed inflation, the Federal Reserve's balance sheet reduction strategy, financial stability concerns, and the future institutional direction of the Fed. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, reflecting Quarles's broad experience across monetary policy and banking supervision.

In December 2024, Quarles appeared on Fox Business, where he commented on the Federal Reserve's projected path for interest rates. He stated that financial markets had been "excessively optimistic about when rates would come down," offering a more cautious outlook than prevailing market expectations at the time. His remarks came in response to the Fed's projection of two rate cuts for 2025 and 2026.

In March 2025, Quarles sat down with Bloomberg journalist Saleha Mohsin for an interview in which he discussed the state of financial regulation, the activities of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the Trump administration's approach to the Federal Reserve. The conversation reflected the ongoing policy debates surrounding the independence and regulatory posture of the Fed, topics on which Quarles is positioned as both a former insider and an informed external observer.

In June 2025, Quarles participated in a discussion hosted by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, covering his career trajectory from practicing lawyer to policy official to Federal Reserve Vice Chair. The conversation addressed banking crises, stablecoin regulation, and the broader direction of Federal Reserve policy, reflecting Quarles's engagement with emerging issues in financial technology and digital assets alongside more traditional monetary policy questions.

Writing

Beyond his policy commentary, Quarles has also engaged in writing on subjects outside finance and regulation. In late 2022, the University of Chicago Law School highlighted a piece by Quarles about the "last" Rose Bowl, a work that touched on themes of cultural transformation and the passage of time in the American West. The piece was noted by the law school as an example of the writing produced by its alumni community.

Personal Life

Quarles has maintained a relatively private personal life. He is known to have connections to the state of Utah and the American West, themes reflected in some of his non-professional writing. Details about his family life, including any spouse or children, have not been extensively documented in publicly available sources reviewed for this article.

Recognition

Quarles's appointment as the first-ever Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve was itself a significant milestone in the history of American financial regulation. The position, created by the Dodd–Frank Act but left vacant for seven years, was filled for the first time with his confirmation in 2017, giving him a unique place in the institutional history of the Federal Reserve.

Since leaving the Federal Reserve, Quarles has been recognized as a significant voice in policy discussions through invitations to speak at and participate in events hosted by prominent institutions, including the Hoover Institution, the Mercatus Center, and the University of Chicago Law School. His perspectives on monetary policy and financial regulation continue to be sought by major media outlets, including Bloomberg News, the Financial Times, and Fox Business.

Legacy

Quarles's legacy is most closely associated with his role as the inaugural Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve. In this position, he shaped the early institutional character of a role that had been envisioned by the Dodd–Frank Act as a means of ensuring that banking supervision received dedicated, high-level attention within the Federal Reserve system. The fact that the position had remained unfilled from its creation in 2010 until Quarles's confirmation in 2017 underscored both the political complexity of the role and the significance of his appointment.

His tenure coincided with a period of substantial debate over the appropriate intensity and scope of post-crisis financial regulation. Quarles navigated these debates during a time that included the relative economic stability of the late 2010s and the severe disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, which tested the resilience of the regulatory framework he helped administer.

Quarles's departing remarks in December 2021, in which he expressed caution about the scale of pandemic-era stimulus, anticipated themes that would dominate economic policy discussion in subsequent years, including debates over inflation, the appropriate pace of monetary tightening, and the long-term consequences of extraordinary fiscal and monetary interventions.

In the post-Fed phase of his career, Quarles has contributed to ongoing policy conversations as both a practitioner—through his work at the Cynosure Group—and as a commentator, addressing issues ranging from traditional monetary policy to emerging topics such as stablecoin regulation and the future of digital assets. His career trajectory—from lawyer to Treasury official to the first Vice Chairman for Supervision to private sector leader—reflects a pattern of movement between public service and private enterprise that is common among senior American financial officials.