By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – President Joe Biden has begun the search for a fresh candidate after Sarah Bloom Raskin, who was dropped from the Federal Reserve’s highest regulatory post last month, resigned.

Raskin did not receive enough support from moderate Democrats for her confirmation. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who was worried about her ability to discourage banks from loaning money to oil-and gas companies, said that Raskin would not be supported.

Fed Vice Chair of Supervision, one of the most influential banking regulators in government is expected to assume a wide portfolio, including climate risk and fintechs.

According to Washington insiders and analysts, these are the likely candidates to join the mix.

MICHAEL BARR, FORMER OFFICIAL TREASURY

Michael Barr, currently a Professor at the University of Michigan Law School was an integral figure at Treasury under President Barack Obama, when Congress passed Dodd-Frank’s 2010 financial reform law.

According to two people familiar with the matter, Barr was the assistant secretary for financial institution and helped to shape Wall Street’s overhaul. He is now a top candidate for the Fed position, sources say.

Barr was previously in the running for a post as a bank regulator, leading up the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. However, some progressives opposed Barr’s consideration, citing his experience with fintech companies after he left government.

Barr has not responded to my request for comment.

RAPHAEL BOSTIC ATLANTA FED PRESENDER

Bostic was the first Black person in a region Fed presidency role when he became president of Atlanta Fed. His views on economic inequality and racial diversity are important policy priorities of the Biden administration.

Bostic, a trained economist, previously served in roles at Washington’s U.S. central banking, where he received praises for his community lending work, and at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Analysts said that Bostic is a little unknown in the realm of financial regulation. According to two executives in the industry, Bostic’s name was initially floated by banks last year.

Bostic spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

NELLIE LIANG TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY

Liang is a former Fed official and Treasury’s Undersecretary for Domestic Finance. She was integral in the establishment of the regulatory framework following the financial crisis of 2007-2009. As a Fed staffer for decades, she eventually became the first Director of the Division of Financial Stability.

In 2017, she left the Fed to rejoin the Brookings Institution think-tank, where, amongst other things, she criticised Republican attempts to reduce capital and liquidity requirements of large banks.

Liang was nominated by the Fed Board of Governors for her seat during Trump’s administration. But, she withdrew from the race in 2019, after Republicans blocked the nomination. They feared she would be too harsh on Wall Street.

Some progressives feel that Liang is not taking a stronger stance regarding cryptocurrencies. Isaac Boltansky wrote Monday in a note, “so, it’s unclear whether she would have been in any future discussion about this role,” he said. Boltansky was the policy director for brokerage BTIG.

Liang’s spokesperson did not respond immediately to our request for comment.

MICHAEL HSU, ACTING COTROLLER OF CURRENCY

Hsu is currently acting currency comptroller. He was previously in charge of big bank supervision at Fed. He has advocated Democratic priorities including climate change risk, and warned banks about “overconfidence” following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington insiders believe he is an ideal fit for Fed supervision. However, it is not certain if Manchin’s stance on climate and financial risk will be acceptable to him, who is moderately elected as the representative of coal-producing West Virginia in Senate.

Hsu spokeswoman did not respond immediately to our request for comment.

MARY MILLER, AN EX-TREASURERY UNDERSECRETARY

Mary Miller (who was with the Treasury between 2010 and 2014) was the new name. Recently, she was the Johns Hopkins University’s interim senior vice-president for finance and administration.

Miller managed the Treasury’s Treasury debt, finances, and recovery from the financial crises during her time at Treasury. Miller played an important role in the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial law. She helped agencies create complex regulations such as the Volcker Rule and established the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Miller couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

RICHARD CORDRAY, FORMER HEAD OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB)

Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general was the first director for the CFPB.

His leadership led to aggressive action against payday and mortgage lenders. This earned him praise from progressives, but also criticism from Republicans.

Cordray left the agency and ran unsuccessfully to be Ohio’s governor. He is currently in charge of federal student aid programs for the Education Department. Reuters reports that Cordray had been considered for the post of supervision in late 2013.

Cordray didn’t respond to our request for comment.