The more I read about the resignation of Susan Schmidt Bies from the board of the Fed the more convinced I am that the reason behind her leaving is a total disenchantment with the whole Basel II process in the US.

The reason given (“to spend more time with her family”) is the usual one given when you cannot say why you are really leaving. It is just such a cliché as to not be credible. The lack of follow up releases is indicative.

Mover Mike thinks that the resignation was prompted by monetary policy concerns. In this, I think Mike is wrong. She had shown that she has been able to put up with pressure on interest rates and has agreed with the majority the whole way through. She also showed (from my reading at least) not to disagree with the new governor.

As one of the few commercial bankers in the Fed, Bies would have been under intense pressure on the Basel II implementation process. Voices from all over would have been disagreeing, many with considerable force. To me, her own insticts would have been just to implement the Accord as it is. The NPR process would have caused such intense cognitive dissonance that, IMHO, her position simply became untenable.

Of course, I am speculating on the feelings of someone I have never met – so feel fre

e to disagree.