Obama to nominate community banker Allan Landon for Fed: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to nominate community banker Allan Landon for a seat on the U.S. Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, a source briefed by the White House said on Tuesday.

Landon, a partner with private investment fund Community BanCapital, served as chief executive officer of the Bank of Hawaii from 2004 until 2010. The source said the White House would announce the nomination later on Tuesday.

Landon, reached by telephone, declined to comment and referred calls to the White House press office.

Several lawmakers on Capitol Hill have urged the White House to name someone with community banking experience to one of the two open seats on the central bank's board, concerned that big Wall Street firms hold too much sway.

BanCapital, based in Portland, Oregon, invests in the debt of community banks. According to the fund's website, Landon, 66, was responsible for "sourcing, evaluating and monitoring investments."

He worked as chief financial officer at Bank of Hawaii for four years before becoming CEO. Previously, he had been the CFO at First American in Tennessee and before that had worked at accounting firm Ernst & Young.

The nomination comes as the Fed prepares for its first interest rate increase since 2006, which is expected around mid-year.

(Reporting by Emily Stephenson and Howard Schneider; Editing by Chris Reese and Alan Crosby)