By Michael S. Derby
(Reuters) -Anna Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) was tapped Monday as the permanent head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Markets Group, a role she takes on immediately, the bank said in a press release on Monday.
Nordstrom, who has been with the New York Fed since 2008, had been serving as interim leader of the Markets Group since December after then Markets chief Michelle Neal announced her resignation, which took effect in March.
Before assuming her role in the Markets Group, Nordstrom held a number of roles in the bank’s work on financial markets. She had been since 2023 the Head of the Domestic and International Markets function under the Markets group.
Nordstrom also led for 15 years the New York Fed’s International Markets function. She has also held other international roles, including at the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, as well as the Central Bank of Sweden.
In a statement, New York Fed President John Williams said Nordstrom "is a dedicated public servant who applies her keen understanding of financial markets and operations, and her decades of engagement with central banks and market participants around the world to help drive our success."
The bank’s Markets Group oversees a critical range of central bank operations, interfacing directly with financial markets and overseeing the implementation of monetary policy.
The direct management of the monetary policy work, including directing changes in short-term rates and as well dealing with issues around the central bank’s massive $6.8 trillion balance sheet, is done by Roberto Perli, manager of the Fed’s System Open Market Account.
Nordstrom comes to her role as the Fed is facing a wide range of challenges. It’s being pressured by President Donald Trump to cut interest rates even as inflation is above the 2% target, while the president’s trade agenda is widely expected to push up price pressures and unemployment while depressing growth.
At the same time, financial market have been undergoing substantial volatility due to political developments, and many have worried whether the trouble will require the Fed to intervene in markets to stabilize trading.
So far, top central bankers like Chairman Jerome Powell see orderly trading despite price declines, lowering odds of imminent emergency action.