Sheila Bair - Center for Financial Stability

Advisory Board

Sheila Bair
Advisory Board Member and Senior Fellow

Sheila Bair is a Member of the Center for Financial Stability (CFS) Advisory Board as well as senior fellow.

Ms. Bair has had a long and distinguished career in government, academia, and finance. Twice named by Forbes Magazine as the second most powerful woman in the world, she is perhaps best known as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011, when she steered the agency through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. For her efforts to protect bank depositors and homeowners during the crisis, she received the Kennedy Library’s Profiles in Courage Award, and was named “the little guy’s protector in chief” by Time Magazine.

A former finance professor and college president, Ms. Bair has been nationally recognized for her innovative initiatives to make college more accessible and affordable. She is a frequent commentator and op-ed contributor on financial regulation and the student debt crisis, as well as author of the NY Times Best Seller, Bull by the Horns, her 2012 memoir of the financial crisis.

Ms. Bair currently serves on a number of corporate governing boards, including Fannie Mae, where she serves as the first woman Chair, Bunge Ltd where she chairs the Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee, and Lion Electric. She is on the International Advisory Board to the Santander Group. She also serves on the board of Paxos, a blockchain technology trust company, and as an advisor to several fintech startups. She is a founding director of the Volcker Alliance, established by Former Federal Reserve Board Chair Paul Volcker to build trust in government and is the founding chair of the Systemic Risk Council, which advocates for financial stability. In addition, she is a Senior Advisor to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation on financial issues confronting young people. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Economists for Peace and Security.

Publications by Sheila Bair

Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself

NEW YORK TIMES and THE WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

The former FDIC chairwoman, and one of the first people to acknowledge the full risk of subprime loans, offers a unique perspective on the financial crisis. More

Recent Papers and Opinions by Sheila Bair

“The Federal Reserve needs to stay put on rates” - CFS Advisory Board member and senior fellow Sheila Bair advocates for keeping rates unchanged, but if the Fed does raise rates again... Financial Times, July 24, 2024

“The Fed‘s ‘stress tests’ overlook the dangers facing banks” - CFS Advisory Board member and senior fellow Sheila Bair describes deficiencies in the Fed‘s stress tests and how they could be improved. Washington Post, July 11, 2023

“Congress must act to protect smaller banks from investor nerves” Measures to shield operational business accounts, introduced during Covid, should be triggered urgently. Financial Times, May 9, 2023

“US regulators are setting a dangerous precedent on Silicon Valley Bank” CFS Advisory Board member and senior fellow Sheila Bair covers systemic risk determination, use of FDIC insurance and Fed policy. Financial Times, March 14, 2023

“Sheila Bair: 'I feel for the regulators. You’re damned if you do and you're damned if you don’t'” Financial Times, December 15, 2022

“The Fed must emulate the tactics of Volcker�s fight against inflation”, Financial Times, July 22, 2022

“Regulators Must Act to Rein in Wall Street Risks as Rates Rise”, Financial Times, February 3, 2022

“Tempted to turn your home's soaaring equity into cash? Don't do it lightly: Fannie Mae chair”, USA Today, June 26, 2021

“Corporate Debt ‘Relief’ Is an Economic Dud”, Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2021

“Overreliance on the Fed is Compromising the Future for Millennials”, CNBC, April 14, 2020

“Force Global Banks to Suspend Bonuses and Payouts”, Financial Times, March 22, 2020

“The Republican Case for Elizabeth Warren”, Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2020

“Bank Bailouts Should Never Be Repeated”, Washington Post, May 23, 2019

“Time to Change the Student Funding Model in the US”, Financial Times, March 14, 2019

“The Shutdown Isn’t the Only Threat to the Economy”, New York Times, January 10, 2019

“Congress Flirts with Disaster on Bank LeverageRatios”, Wall Street Journal, February 12, 2018

“Why Would We Want to Increase the Cyber Risk to our Bank Data?”, Financial Times, October 9, 2017

“To Boost the Economy, Help Students First”, New York Times, December 21, 2016

“Paying for College Has to Be Easier Than This”, Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2016

“The Real Reasons College Students Drop Out”, Fortune, March 7, 2016

“Could Elizabeth Warren and Jeb Hensarling Cross Party Lines to Fix the Tax Code?”, Fortune, May 20, 2015

“No More Bank Bailouts Cannot Be an Empty Slogan”, Financial Times, August 7, 2014

““Grand Old Parity”, New York Times, February 26, 2013

“Fix IncomeInequality with $10 Million Loans for Everyone”, (humor) Washington Post, April 13, 2012

“Short-Termism and the Risk of Another Financial Crisis”, Washington Post, July 8, 2011

Advisory Board

Randal K. Quarles

William R. Rhodes

Eduardo Aninat, Ph.D.

Charles Goodhart, CBE, FBA

Henry Kaufman, Ph.D.

Barbara G. Novick

Guillermo Ortiz, Ph.D.

Richard L. Sandor, Ph.D., Dr. Sc.h.c.

Myron S. Scholes, Ph.D.

The Honorable Carole L. Brookins (2010-20)

Judge Richard A. Posner (2010-20)

Experts

Sheila Bair
Advisory Board Member and Senior Fellow

William A. Barnett
Director / Advances in Monetary and Financial Measurement

David Beers
Senior Fellow / Sovereign Risk Analysis and Policy

Bradley J. Bondi
Senior Fellow / Legal Studies

Kevin R. Brock
Senior Fellow / Cybersecurity Strategy

Alvin Chua
Senior Advisor

Stephen Dizard
Special Counselor

John D. Feldmann
Senior Fellow

Kate Flanagan
Senior Fellow / Consumer Finance

Peter Flocos, Esq. (Trustee)
Managing Director, Policy and Regulation

Patricia Wilson Fridley
Senior Advisor

Diane B. Glossman
Senior Fellow / Financial Institutions

Lawrence Goodman
President and Founder

Steve H. Hanke
Special Counselor

Steven Lofchie
Senior Fellow / Legal Studies

Robin L. Lumsdaine
Senior Fellow / International Finance

Jack Malvey
Special Counselor

David X Martin
Special Counselor

Ryan Scott Mattson
Research Associate

Nicholas Sargen
Senior Fellow / Global Markets and Investment Management

Charles Schott
Senior Advisor

Kurt Schuler
Senior Fellow / Financial History

Liting Su
Research Associate

Jeff van den Noort
Chief Technology Officer

Yubo Wang
Senior Fellow / Financial Markets