Ex-Fed governor Warsh steps down

Kevin Warsh, the youngest person ever to serve as a governor of the Federal Reserve, is to leave the US central bank next month.

The former Wall Street financier, 40, was seen as the most hawkish of the Fed's governors and, though he voted in favour of the bank's $600bn programme of quantitative easing, he has expressed public scepticism about the policy and concern that it could lead to inflation.

He was also a close ally of the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, during the credit crisis, often acting as a liaison with Wall Street executives. "I deeply appreciate his insights and wise counsel, and most especially his fortitude and friendship during the difficult days, nights and weekends of the crisis," Mr Bernanke said yesterday.