Alfred Hayes (banker) explained

Alfred Hayes
Office:	President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Term Start:	August 1, 1956
Term End:	August 1, 1975
Predecessor:	Allan Sproul
Successor:	Paul Volcker
Birth Date:	4 July 1910
Birth Place:	Ithaca, New York, U.S.
Death Place:	New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.
Spouse:	Bebba Chalmers
Children:	2
Education:	Yale University (BA) Harvard University New College, Oxford

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.

Early life and education

Hayes was born on July 4, 1910, in Ithaca, New York, the son of Christine (Robertson) and Alfred Hayes.^[1] 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

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.^[2]

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

After leaving the Federal Reserve, Hayes served as chairman of Morgan Stanley International. He retired in 1981. He died on October 21, 1989.^[6]

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

Further reading

• 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

• "Emerging Arrangements in International Payments — Public and Private", transcript of a lecture by Alfred Hayes to the Per Jacobsson Foundation, 1975

Notes and References

1. Web site: Current Biography Yearbook. 1967.
2. Web site: Alfred Hayes - FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of NEW YORK. www.newyorkfed.org. 2019-11-01.
3. News: 1956-05-01 . A Scholar in Banking; Alfred Hayes . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-01-07 . 0362-4331.
4. Web site: New York Fed Names John Williams as Its Next President. Smialek. Jeanna. Boesler. Matthew. Torres. Craig. 3 April 2018. Bloomberg. 31 March 2019.
5. Web site: ParlInfo - GOLD-MINING INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE BILL 1968 : Second Reading . 2023-01-07 . parlinfo.aph.gov.au.
6. News: Wolfgang Saxon . Alfred Hayes, 79, Retired Chief Of the Reserve Bank of New York . . 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. . 1989-10-22 .
7. Book: Brooks . John . John Brooks (writer) . The Wizards of Wall Street: Business Adventures, Once in Golconda, and The Go-Go Years . 2018 . . 267 . 9781504057622 . 24 November 2021.