Hawkish Chief of Philadelphia Fed Plosser to Retire in March

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser, whose vocal discomfort with the U.S. central bank's super-easy monetary policy marks him as one of its hawkish policymakers, will retire on March 1, the regional Fed bank said on Monday.

Plosser, 66, has dissented on policy decisions half a dozen times during his eight-year stint at the Fed, often charging that the looser monetary policy his colleagues support could spark future inflation and flies in the face of established monetary policy rules.

Plosser's focus on fighting the threat of inflation, even though inflation has been stuck below the Fed's 2-percent target for years, has put him at odds with his employment-focused 'dovish' counterparts at the Fed who have supported years of aggressive monetary stimulus.

His departure could leave Fed Chair Janet Yellen with a more cohesive group of policymakers as she navigates the Fed's first interest rate rise since 2006, currently expected sometime in the middle of next year.

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, 65 and also a hawk, has already announced his plans leave the Fed in April. The pair both dissented this month against the Fed's decision to continue to signal it will keep rates low for a considerable time longer.

Although the chiefs of the Philadelphia and Dallas Feds won't have votes on the policy-setting committee next year, all 12 regional Fed bank presidents take part in the central bank's regular meetings, and decisions often incorporate the views of both voters and non-voters.

Yellen is sometimes seen as a dove because she often uses speeches to emphasize the plight of the unemployed and has fully supported the Fed's super-easy monetary policy since the Great Recession.

Her legacy, however, will turn on her ability to shift the Fed from the 'accommodative' stance it has had since the financial crisis to a tighter, more restrictive stance in line with what Plosser and Fisher have sought for years.

Regional Fed presidents generally face mandatory retirement after 65.

Plosser and Fisher's successors will be chosen by business leaders in their respective regions, and approved by the Washington-based Fed Board.

The Fed's Board of Governors, which normally has seven members, also has two openings, both of whom need to be appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate.