US President Barack Obama is set to name former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.
The White House is expected to announce the decision next week after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Nikkei said.
Summers, a Harvard University economist, and Fed Vice-Chairwoman Janet Yellen are considered the two leading candidates to succeed Bernanke, whose tenure as Fed Chairman expires next January.
Obama apparently concluded that the 58-year-old Summers, an expert on economic policy with close ties to the President, is best-suited for the job, the paper said.
However, tensions between the Obama administration and Congress are running high over Syria and other issues, and some members of Congress have expressed doubts about putting Summers in charge of the central bank.
Such uncertainties could delay the official announcement, the report said.
The Nikkei also reported Treasury Undersecretary Lael Brainard, a former economic adviser during the Clinton administration, will likely be named Vice-Chairman of the central bank.