The Federal Reserve said Friday that Susan Schmidt Bies submitted her resignation as a member of the Board of Governors, effective March 30, 2007. Bies, who has been a member of the Board since December 7, 2001, submitted her resignation to President Bush, and said she plans to spend more time with her family. She does not plan to attend the March 20-21 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. Bies’ term didn’t expire until 2012, and any successor must be nominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate. Her departure leaves the Fed without a commercial banker on its board, and comes as Capitol Hill is becoming increasingly concerned about the potential fallout from loose underwriting standards, particularly in the subprime credit sector.

“Sue’s invaluable contributions to both monetary and regulatory policy at the Federal Reserve have been aided by her unique perspective as both an economist and a banker,” said Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. “Her leadership at the Board was most evident in guiding our efforts in banking policy and community affairs. I will miss her counsel and wish her all the best in her new endeavors.” During her time on the Board, she has served as Chairman of the Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Affairs; Chairman of the Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs; and as a member of the Committee on Federal Reserve Bank Affairs. In addition, she represented the Federal Reserve in the Financial Stability Forum and led the Federal Reserve’s efforts to modernize the Basel capital accord. Before joining the Board, Bies served in various positions at First Tennessee National Corporation and was a member of the Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Earlier in her career, she taught economics at Rhodes College and at Wayne State University and served as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Link: See the resignation letter here.