Alfred Hayes Jr. (July 4, 1910 – October 21, 1989) was an American banker and an expert in international finance. As president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1956 to 1975, Hayes was known as a conservative money manager who took a strong stand against inflation. He also had a reputation as a lightning-fast mathematician.[1]

Alfred Hayes
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
In office
August 1, 1956 – August 1, 1975
Preceded byAllan Sproul
Succeeded byPaul Volcker
Personal details
Born(1910-07-04)July 4, 1910
Ithaca, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 21, 1989(1989-10-21) (aged 79)
New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.
SpouseBebba Chalmers
Children2
EducationYale University (BA)
Harvard University
New College, Oxford

Early life and education edit

Hayes was born on July 4, 1910, in Ithaca, New York, the son of Christine (Robertson) and Alfred Hayes.[2] He was a student at Harvard College before transferring to Yale, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry. He then studied for a year at the Harvard Business School before attending New College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. At Oxford, Hayes studied economics.

Career edit

In 1933, Hayes became an analyst for the investment department of City Bank Farmers Trust Co. In 1940 he transferred to the bond department of the National City Bank. Two years later he became assistant secretary in the investment department of the New York Trust Company. During World War II, Hayes served for two years in Washington, D.C., and Rome as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in the office of financial planning for military government and later in the office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner. After the war, Hayes returned to New York Trust, where he became assistant vice president (1947). From 1949 to 1955 Hayes served as vice president in charge of the Trust's foreign division.[3]

Hayes served from 1956[4] to 1975 as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee.[3][5] He was opposed to the de-monetisation of gold.[6]

After leaving the Federal Reserve, Hayes served as chairman of Morgan Stanley International. He retired in 1981. He died on October 21, 1989.[1]

Hayes was married to Vilma, daughter of Thomas Hardie Chalmers.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Wolfgang Saxon (1989-10-22). "Alfred Hayes, 79, Retired Chief Of the Reserve Bank of New York". The New York Times. Alfred Hayes, who headed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York until 1975 and played a pivotal role in the national and world banking systems for nearly two decades, died yesterday at a nursing home in New Canaan, Conn. He was 79 years old and a longtime resident of New Canaan.
  2. ^ "Current Biography Yearbook". 1967.
  3. ^ a b "Alfred Hayes - FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of NEW YORK". www.newyorkfed.org. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  4. ^ "A Scholar in Banking; Alfred Hayes". The New York Times. 1956-05-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  5. ^ Smialek, Jeanna; Boesler, Matthew; Torres, Craig (3 April 2018). "New York Fed Names John Williams as Its Next President". Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. ^ "ParlInfo - GOLD-MINING INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE BILL 1968 : Second Reading". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  7. ^ Brooks, John (2018). The Wizards of Wall Street: Business Adventures, Once in Golconda, and The Go-Go Years. Open Road Media. p. 267. ISBN 9781504057622. Retrieved 24 November 2021.

Further reading edit

  • John Brooks, "Annals of Finance: In Defense of Sterling I," The New Yorker, March 23, 1968, 44-96
  • John Brooks, "Annals of Finance: In Defense of Sterling II," The New Yorker, March 30, 1968, 43-101

External links edit

Other offices
Preceded by President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
1956–1975
Succeeded by