The FOMC has 12 voting members:

  • The seven members of the Board of Governors
  • The President of the NY Fed
  • And four members drawn from the pool of eleven regional Fed heads. These members serve a one-year term only; each year these four are replaced with four of the other seven regional Fed heads.

The first meeting of 2013 is due on January 29 and 30; at this meeting the four regional Fed Presidents are replaced with a different four.

  • The four being replaced are: Lacker, Lockhart, Pianalto and Williams.
  • They are being replaced by: Evans, Rosengren, Bullard and George.

I would classify the four being replaced as:

  • OUT (Hawk) Jeffrey M. Lacker, Richmond
  • OUT (Centre/dove) Dennis P. Lockhart, Atlanta
  • OUT (Centre/dove) Sandra Pianalto, Cleveland
  • OUT (Centre/dove) John C. Williams, San Francisco

And I would classify the four incoming voters as:

  • IN (Dove) Charles L. Evans, Chicago
  • IN (Dove) Eric S. Rosengren, Boston
  • IN (Centre) James Bullard, St. Louis
  • IN (Hawk) Esther George, Kansas City

On balance, the four incoming voters give the FOMC voters as a whole (don’t forget, there are 8 ‘permanent’ voting members who are not changing this year) a slightly more dovish tone than otherwise.