Esther George Tapped as Kansas City Fed Chief

The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank on Thursday named Esther George, a long-time bank supervisor at the institution, as its president to replace Thomas Hoenig, who is retiring.

George, who holds a master's degree in business administration, has most recently been the Kansas City Fed's first vice president and chief operating officer. She was its vice president in charge supervision and risk management from 2001 to 2009.

In 2009, George served as acting director of the Federal Reserve Board's division of bank supervision in Washington.

George, 53, will join Cleveland's Sandra Pianalto as the second woman currently serving as president of one of the 12 regional Fed banks. There are currently three women serving on the Fed board of governors, which has seven seats of which now only five are occupied.

As president of a regional Fed bank, George will participate in meetings of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, but will have a vote only once every three years. The Kansas City Fed's next turn to vote will be in 2013.

George's appointment has been approved by the Fed board in Washington.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Editing by Neil Stempleeman)