Janet Yellen prepares to leave the Fed after one term

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Janet Yellen, the first woman to run the world's most powerful bank – the US Federal Reserve – prepares to leave after serving just one term. Lawmakers are expected to confirm the new head of the Federal Reserve System this Wednesday.

"As I prepare to leave the Board, I am gratified that the financial system is much stronger than a decade ago, better able to withstand future bouts of instability and continue supporting the economic aspirations of American family and businesses," she said in a letter to US President Donald Trump. "I am also gratified by the substantial improvement in the economy since the crisis."

Janet Yellen became the first female chair of the Fed in 2014. / VCG photo

Yellen inherited the aftermath of the worst recession since the Great Depression and protecting working families from another one was her focus from the outset. Yellen's biggest challenge was weaning the US economy off an unprecedented stimulus program at a pace that wouldn't frighten employers or investors and derail the recovery.

She signaled her intentions early on to prepare financial markets, choosing the end of 2015 as the moment to raise interest rates from record lows and increase the cost of borrowing. And so far, it's worked. The cranes dotting Washington's skyline and those across US cities showed a sign of the confidence that has returned.

Employment is also a big achievement on her list of accomplishments. She has helped the US economy add 17 million net jobs and enjoys maximum employment, while the unemployment rate was close to seven percent when she became chair of the Fed in 2014.

But Yellen never bonded with Trump. After he accused her of keeping interest rates low to benefit his election rival Hillary Clinton. Yellen, for her part, was concerned Trump's plan to accelerate economic growth with policies such as tax cuts would threaten the stability she wanted.

Janet Yellen will serve just one term as chair of the Federal Reserve. / VCG photo

"There is great uncertainty about the timing, the size, the character of policy changes that may be put in place," Yellen said before.

Managing those policies will fall to her successor Jerome Powell. Yellen leaves him a healthy economy, but also leaves the Fed as the first chair in nearly 40 years not to be appointed to a second term.