Fed Governor Bowman announces a restructure of the Fed’s supervisory function

At the 2026 Community Banking Research Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Michelle Bowman announced that the Federal Reserve is restructuring its supervisory function to strengthen accountability and decision-making and maintain a clear focus on bank safety and soundness.

In her remarks, Vice Chair Bowman noted that Federal Reserve supervision has historically relied on a complex network of committees that often slowed decision-making, delayed communication, and obscured accountability. An independent review of the Silicon Valley Bank failure reinforced these concerns, identifying a longstanding disconnect between supervisory responsibility and accountability.

To address these weaknesses, Vice Chair Bowman announced that the Federal Reserve is beginning a significant organizational realignment modeled in part on the regional structure used by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Supervision will initially be organized into five regions, each led by a regional leader accountable for all supervisory activity within that region. The regions will follow state boundaries rather than Federal Reserve District boundaries, while examiners will remain in their existing Reserve Bank locations and continue supervising their current institutions. The Fed expects the new structure to improve coordination with state and federal regulators and promote more consistent supervision while preserving the benefits of local examination teams.