What is going on that a Fed governor resigns from his post 8 years before the end of the term? According to a press release Governor Roger Ferguson submitted his resignation (pdf) from his post, effective April 28. He will not attend the next FOMC meeting on March 27/28. US president George Bush now has to fill the next vacancy at the Federal Reserve Board.
Ferguson is the second high-level defection after Fed Philadelphia president Anthony Santomero announced his intention not to seek re-election when his term ends in March.
It is suspicious that the White House has such a hard time to fill positions that carry the highest prestige - and privileges - in the financial world. It took Bush's helpers more than half a year to come up with Randall Kroszner and Kevin Warsh for two empty governor's seats. While Kroszner has an impressive bio, Warsh has become the "Kevin who?" person as only few people on Wall Street know Warsh who, at 35, would be the youngest person ever to become a Fed governor.
Something is smelling here as the second defection in only 2 months is certainly not an everyday event.
UPDATE: The WSJ Law Blog carries a post with Warsh's bio from quite sarcastic Peter Lattman. The comments are interesting too.