Preston Martin (December 5, 1923 – May 30, 2007) was an American economist and banker who served as the 12th
Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve
The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve, after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair presides over the meetings Board of ...
from 1982 to 1986.''Associated Press via San Jose Mercury News'' "Martin, financial regulator appointed by Nixon and Reagan, dies" 1 June 2007 /ref>
Education
Preston Martin graduated from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
in 1947, before completed an MBA in finance from the same university in 1948 and earned his PhD in monetary economics from
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
in 1952.President Reagan "Nomination of Preston Martin To Be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Designation as Vice Chairman " January 11, 1982 /ref>
Career
He was the head of the Economic Department at USC, founded ERG Economic Research Group doing work for Lockheed, among others, while simultaneously writing a book on Housing and Urban Development, as well as serving on the board of directors at Lincoln Savings and Loan. He then served as
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
's Saving and Loan Commissioner between 1967 and 1969 under then Governor Ronald Reagan. His exemplary performance at the state level led to President
Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
appointing him as chairman and chief operating officer of the
Federal Home Loan Bank Board
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) was a board created in 1932 that governed the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB or FHLBanks) also created by the act, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and nationally-chartered savings ...
in 1969. He was involved in creating
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is a publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Here also he initiated the 5% mortgage loan bill which was passed, almost as a token because the opposition did not think it would work. There was no entity to insure those loans. Shortly thereafter, when he left the government in 1972, he founded PMI Mortgage Insurance Company to do just that, insure the 5% mortgage loans which would enable thousands of Americans to purchase their first homes.Francisco Chronicle'' "Preston Martin – ex-Fed vice chair" 1 June 2007 /ref>
Martin later established Seraco Enterprises, a subsidiary of
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
based in the Sears Tower in Chicago, and was appointed to the board of directors of Sears. When Sears merged with Coldwell Banker, in 1982, President
Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
appointed him as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve for four years and as a member for 14 years. During his years at the Fed, Martin was known as a Reagan loyalist who challenged Chairman Paul Volcker's tough anti-inflation policies.
Martin was considered as a possible successor to
Paul Volcker
Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. (September 5, 1927 – December 8, 2019) was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman, Volcker was widely credited with having ended the ...
as chairman of the Federal Reserve, but
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He works as a private adviser and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. ...
was appointed instead. Martin returned to San Francisco and created Western Holdings, acquiring failing savings & loans all around the Pacific rim. He died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, aged 83, in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, survived by his son Pier Preston Martin, also a banker.