
Inspector General investigates whether official Fed transactions violate ethical rules or laws
The Federal Reserve stated that it is working with the Office of the Inspector General to review the 2020 transactions of a small number of central bank officials to determine whether these transactions meet ethical standards and are not illegal.
After a series of financial disclosures showed that Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, Dallas Fed Chairman Robert Kaplan, and Boston Fed Chairman Eric Rosengren had all made major financial transactions in 2020, the addition of the Office of the Inspector General intensified The Fed’s growing controversy.
These transactions (some of which amount to millions of dollars) have caused anger in Congress and fear that as the Fed begins to take emergency measures to help the U.S. economy escape the Covid-19 recession, central bank officials may conduct transactions based on non-public information.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attends a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, USA on September 30, 2021.
Aldrago | Reuters
“As part of the comprehensive review, we started discussions with the Federal Reserve Board of Inspector General (OIG) last week to initiate an independent review of whether the trading activities of certain senior officials comply with relevant ethical rules and laws,” a Fed spokesperson told CNBC. “We welcome this review and will accept and take appropriate action based on its findings.”
The public’s strong opposition and reexamination of the Fed’s transactions began in early September, when information disclosed at the time showed that many Fed officials were working hard to formulate and deploy emergency liquidity measures to help rescue the US economy while buying and selling financial assets.
These tables show that Kaplan made multiple transactions worth $1 million or more in individual stocks last year. Rosengren is engaged in real estate transactions, while he and other members of the Federal Reserve are committed to buying mortgage-backed securities.
Both resigned last week In the public commotion, although Rosengren mentioned his health problems with early withdrawal.
Although the Fed announced the Clarida deal in May, concerns about Capitol Hill in recent days have once again focused on his transfer of $1 million to $5 million from a wide range of bond funds to a wide range of equities by the February 2020 market Funds plummeted in March due to extensive lockdown measures taken by the United States to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Among its many efforts to support the economy, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to zero and started buying US$120 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities every month to inject liquidity into the market.
The climax of the Fed leadership transaction prompted Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to urge the SEC on Monday Open insider trading investigation Enter Clarida, Kaplan and Rosengren.
A Fed spokesperson told CNBC on Monday that Clarida’s transaction “was executed before he participated in the review of the Federal Reserve’s response to the emergence of the coronavirus, not during a power outage.” “The selected fund was selected with the prior approval of the board’s ethics officer.”
Under this influence, the Federal Reserve announced in mid-September that Has begun to review its ethical rules, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later said it was not enough.
“We are very aware that the trust of the American people is critical to our effective mission. That’s why I instructed the Federal Reserve to begin a comprehensive review of the ethical rules surrounding the financial assets and activities permitted by Federal Reserve officials.” He said last month.
Powell added that the central bank’s current rules “are now clearly not enough to truly maintain the public’s trust in us.”
Other Fed leaders, such as Richmond Fed Chairman Thomas Barkin, have almost no transactions in 2020, but hold several financial assets in excess of $1 million.
His shares include Coca-Cola stocks worth more than $500,000 but less than $1 million. Barkin’s largest holdings are valued at $1 million or more and include various exchange-traded funds and mutual funds supervised by external managers.
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