Yellen to take charge as Fed chief today

To be formally sworn in as first woman Fed chair next week

Janet Yellen, the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve in its 100-year history, will take over the reins of the US central bank on Saturday and formally be sworn in next week, the Fed said on Thursday.

Yellen, 67, who begins her post as the Fed unwinds its unprecedented efforts to boost the US economy, will be sworn in at 9 am EST (1400 GMT) on February 3. She will have full authority as the top central banker from Saturday until the swearing-in ceremony, according to the Fed.

She succeeds Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose second four-year term expires on Friday. Yellen will be sworn in by Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, a Fed official said on condition of anonymity.

Yellen will be one of a handful of women heading central banks globally. Her main task will be to navigate the US central bank's way out of its extraordinary stimulus, beginning with a further dialling down of its massive bond-buying programme, and deciding when to raise rates.

The Fed has already announced a $20 billion reduction in its monthly asset purchases and is expected to completely shut down the programme by year-end.

Yellen will remain in her current role as Fed vice chair over the weekend but will have authority to exercise all duties of the chair, the Fed said.

President Barack Obama has nominated Stanley Fischer, former head of the Bank of Israel, to succeed Yellen in the number two position. The Senate must still confirm Fischer for the job, so it will be temporarily unfilled.

To testify before US House on Feb 11

Incoming Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will testify before US lawmakers on February 11 at 10 am (1500 GMT), possibly her first public comments on monetary policy and the economy after taking the reins at the US central bank.

"Chairman Yellen will appear before the committee to testify on the Fed's semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress and discuss the state of the US economy," according to a statement on Friday from the committee's chairman, Jeb Hensarling, who has been holding hearings on the Fed's bond-buying program.

The testimony is called Humphrey-Hawkins for the law that established the semi-annual appearances of the Fed chair. Yellen succeeds Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Saturday and will be formally sworn in next week.