"That would be a mistake," Frank said in an interview.
Warren, a darling of the left and a fierce critic of big banks, is the "favorite" to become America's first woman Treasury secretary in a potential Biden administration, analysts at Cowen Washington Research Group told clients in a report last month.
But Frank, who worked with the Massachusetts Senator on the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial reform law that turns 10 years old this week, cautioned against a Secretary Warren because of how reviled she is on Wall Street.
"The financial institutions are very negative about her, unfairly in the degree they are," Frank said. "If you have someone who is that much opposed by the people being regulated, it doesn't work smoothly."
Frank, who in 2011 pushed President Obama to nominate Warren to run the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pointed out that Biden and Warren differ on some key economic and financial policies. For instance, Warren is a vocal advocate for breaking up big banks and instituting a wealth tax -- positions that go further than what Biden favors.
"If she's not vice president, I'd rather see her retain the power of legislation in the Senate," said Frank, who added that he's "very confident" Biden will defeat Trump.
Analysts have said that Warren would be a nightmare for Wall Street because her nomination would raise the threat of aggressive regulation.
"This prospect would generate huge anxiety in the financial markets, which she regularly blasts as greedy and corrupt," Greg Valliere, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments, wrote in a note to clients last month.
Four more years for Powell?
Frank suggested that Biden, if he wins in November, should consider keeping one of President Donald Trump's most prominent appointments: Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
"Powell has been the best Trump appointee -- despite the fact Trump yells at him all the time," Frank said.
Trump repeatedly bashed Powell for keeping interest rates too high. At one point the president even questioned whether Powell is a bigger "enemy" than Chinese President Xi Jinping.
But Powell has quarterbacked a ferocious response from the Fed to the pandemic that has been applauded by Trump and many others. The US central bank slashed interest rates to zero, vowed to buy an unlimited amount of government bonds and even set up a facility to buy junk bonds and other corporate debt. The Fed's unprecedented rescue unfroze capital markets and set off an epic boom in the stock market.
"Powell has been good, both on monetary policy and the regulatory side," Frank said. "There is something to be said for supporting confidence by sticking with him."
Dodd-Frank, 10 years later
If Biden wins, Frank does not anticipate a push to impose a significant amount of financial regulation. Rather, he predicted a "more vigorous use of the powers that are there."
Frank, who retired from Congress in early 2013, argues the re
