After Fed members disclosed million dollar stock trades, Fed’s Powell opened ethics investigation

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has asked his staff to open an ethical investigation into the financial activities of Fed members, as a number of senior central bank officials are questioned over their investments. Reports last week said that Dallas Federal Reserve branch chairman Robert Kaplan benefited from “multiple stock transactions over several million dollars” in 2020.

Fed chairmen profit from multiple million dollar stock deals

Federal Reserve members appear to be struggling to cope as politicians and the media have called in a few Fed members for taking advantage of major stock deals. Bitcoin.com News has reported reviews looking directly at members of the Fed and even accusations of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell doing the same.

Last Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article revealing that Dallas Fed Chairman Robert Kaplan “made multiple stock transactions over $ 1 million in 2020, according to a financial disclosure form. provided by his bank “. The New York Times also followed up with an article on Fed membership and stock trading.

The media caught wind of the investments after Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent letters to all regional Fed bank presidents. Warren also issued a press release on the subject and despises the “disturbing reports.”

“Following disturbing reports that two regional Presidents of the Federal Reserve (Fed) made significant stock market transactions in 2020 as the Fed took extraordinary measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” the press release noted. Warren press.

“This controversy over asset trading by senior members of the Fed shows why it is necessary to ban the ownership and trading of individual stocks by senior officials who are supposed to serve the public interest,” Warren said. in a press release. “Regional Fed leaders must prohibit the ownership and trading of individual shares by senior officials, and impose strict and enforceable ethical and financial rules on conflicts of interest for themselves and their staff in order to restore public confidence. “

Now reports show Jerome Powell is getting involved and reports say the Fed chairman has ordered an ethics review. Discussing the matter with CNBC, an anonymous Fed spokesperson discussed the ethical investigation into stock trading activities carried out by senior officials.

The spokesman said Powell had ordered a “fresh and comprehensive review of the ethics rules for financial assets and activities authorized by senior Fed officials.” Because the confidence of the American people is essential for the Federal Reserve to carry out our important mission. The spokesperson added:

This review will help identify ways to further tighten these rules and standards. The Board will make changes, if necessary, and any changes will be added to the Reserve Bank’s Code of Conduct.

Too little, too late

Meanwhile, well-known Wallstreetonparade.com reporters Pam Martens and Russ Martens published an article that highlights the ‘latest scandal [the] The trade actions of Fed chairmen are just the tip of the iceberg.

The Martens detail that while Jerome Powell testified in Congress in 2020, and while members of the Fed knew that “every monetary move during the pandemic was in the name of the average American, the Dallas Fed chairman is making million dollar bets on major tech stocks Justice Department is investigating antitrust activity. “

Additionally, the Martens also wrote that when two Fed chairmen announced they would sell their shares, it was “too little, too late.” The scathing report on wallstreetonparade.com adds:

Fed chairmen are aware of information about market movements that the general public is not aware of. This was especially true last year as the Fed took unprecedented action to combat the economic impact of the pandemic. The Fed cut the Fed Funds rate to zero, set up a bailout package for Wall Street, and began buying $ 120 billion a month in treasury bills and mortgage-backed securities.

What do you think of Jerome Powell’s launch of an ethics investigation and complaints against senior Fed officials making millions from stock trading? Let us know what you think of this topic in the comments section below.

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