KC Federal Reserve has first female president

The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank named Esther George its new president and CEO on Thursday.

She is the first woman to lead the bank.

George, 53, will replace Tom Hoenig, who is retiring Oct. 1.

George has been first vice president and chief operating officer of the Kansas City Fed since 2009. She has been at the bank since 1982, starting as a bank examiner.

"Esther is a great leader who possesses an extraordinary depth of knowledge of the financial system and the economy," Paul DeBruce, chairman of the bank's board of directors, said in a news release.

Her appointment as president will mean she will serve a one-year term as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, which establishes the nation's monetary policy, in 2013.

Troy Davig, an economist at Barclays, said George's expertise in bank supervision would be an asset for the Fed as it implements the sweeping overhaul of bank regulations passed by Congress last year.

"In terms of monetary policy, she is coming from a tradition that has advocated more hawkish policies so we expect that her initial inclination would be to lean against policies calling for further monetary accommodation," Davig said.

George grew up in Faucett, Mo., and attended Missouri Western State University for her bachelor's degree in business. She also holds a master's in business from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

In 2001 George was appointed senior vice president of Kansas City Fed's supervision and risk management division. That role included supervising and regulating 170 state-chartered banks that are Fed members and nearly 1,000 bank and financial holding companies. She also oversaw the Fed's discount window and risk management in that position.

In 2009 she also served a stint as acting director of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors' bank supervision and risk management division in Washington, D.C.

"The financial and economic landscape is changing in our region and around the world, and I am mindful of the challenges ahead," George said in the news release.

George will be the Kansas City Fed's ninth president.

She holds the distinction of following the longest-serving president among the Fed's 12 regions. Hoenig, who announced his retirement in March, will have served 20 years to the day when he retires, Fed spokesman Bill Medley said.

Hoenig spent a total of 38 years at the bank, Medley said.

This story was originally published September 16, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "KC Federal Reserve has first female president."