New Dallas Fed president sticks to mainstream in first speech

Texas won't have a high-profile critic of easy money within the Federal Reserve system anymore, it appears.

Robert Steven Kaplan, the newly installed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, mostly endorsed the views of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in his first speech as head of the regional bank Wednesday.

Speaking at an event at the University of Houston, Kaplan said that "it will likely be appropriate that U.S. monetary policy remain accommodative for some time." His comments generally indicated that he was supportive of the Fed's current tentative plans to raise its interest rate target from zero slowly, although he is not a member of the monetary policy committee.

In contrast, Kaplan's predecessor, Richard Fisher, was known as the most outspoken critic of the Fed's stimulus efforts during his tenure. Fisher was known not only for objecting to the Fed's zero-rate policy and its quantitative easing programs, but also for making his points using colorful metaphors in public speeches.

Kaplan was announced as the new head of the Dallas Fed in August, with his views on monetary policy unknown.

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