Fed’s Powell orders sweeping ethics review after officials’ trading prompts outcry

September 16, 2021

(Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has ordered a sweeping review of the ethics rules governing financial holdings and dealings by senior officials at the U.S. central bank, a Fed spokesperson said on Thursday.

Powell ordered the review late last week, the spokesperson said, a development that comes on the heels of recent reports that two of the Fed system’s 12 regional reserve bank presidents had been active investors. Those revelations, originally reported by the Wall Street Journal, prompted senior U.S. lawmakers – including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts – to demand more stringent restrictions on such activities.

“Because the trust of the American people is essential for the Federal Reserve to effectively carry out our important mission, Chair Powell late last week directed Board staff to take a fresh and comprehensive look at the ethics rules around permissible financial holdings and activities by senior Fed officials,” the spokesperson said.

The rules that guide personal financial practices for Fed officials are the same as those for other government agencies, the spokesperson said. Moreover, the Fed has supplemental rules that are stricter than those for Congress and other agencies that are specific to the work conducted by the Fed.

“This review will assist in identifying ways to further tighten those rules and standards. The Board will make changes, as appropriate, and any changes will be added to the Reserve Bank Code of Conduct,” the spokesperson said.

(Reporting By Howard Schneider; Writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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