Treasury international expert to step down Friday

The Treasury Department’s top official on international matters will step down Friday, amid reports she is being considered for a position at the Federal Reserve.

Lael Brainard, Treasury’s Under Secretary for International Affairs, will leave the agency after serving there for over three years, a Treasury official confirmed.

In that capacity, Brainard played a central role in guiding the Treasury’s response to the European debt crisis, as well as the administration’s attempts to deal with China’s undervalued currency. She also served as an economic adviser under President Clinton.

{mosads}Brainard is reportedly a top candidate to fill one of several open seats on the Federal Reserve Board. Elizabeth Duke resigned from the Fed in August, and another Fed governor, Sarah Bloom Raskin, has been nominated by the president to serve as his Treasury Deputy Secretary.

Janet Yellen, the Fed’s vice chair, has been nominated by the president to replace outgoing Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term expires at the beginning of 2014.

The move from Brainard also continues a trend of overhaul at the Treasury during the president’s second term. In addition to Secretary Jack Lew stepping in to the role filled by Timothy Geithner, Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin stepped down in September. Raskin was nominated to fill his role.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Brainard’s departure.