The President of the American Central Bank (Fed) Jerome Powell is in turn blamed for major stock market transactions carried out during the crisis, unwelcome revelations while he is still waiting to know if he is reappointed for a second term.
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Struggle for influence over the fate of Fed boss Jerome Powell
Jerome Powell sold part of his assets on the stock market on October 1, 2020, and recovered between one and five million dollars in cash, according to official documents available online.
"The withdrawals (of cash) were intended to cover family expenses,"
a Fed spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday. Several officials of the institution have already been blamed for their stock market transactions, and two of them recently resigned, while a review of ethical rules has been launched.
The stocks sold by Jerome Powell were held in the Vanguard Total Stock Market index fund, which brings together various companies listed on the US stock exchange, and does not target any particular sector.
But these transactions, carried out just before a fall on Wall Street, fuel suspicions of conflicts of interest.
Jerome Powell's deals have been exposed by progressive site The American Prospect, which calls for not reappointing him, as Democrats remain divided on whether or not to offer him a second term.
The left wing of the party is campaigning for Joe Biden to choose someone else.
Previous resignations
These revelations come barely a month after the resignation of the president of the regional office of the Dallas Fed, Robert Kaplan, and that of the Boston Fed, Eric Rosengren, implicated for major stock transactions in the midst of the related economic crisis. at Covid-19. Fed Vice-President Richard Clarida also said large-scale transactions carried out in February 2020, at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and just before the Fed cut rates managers to support the economy. In mid-September, after this cascade of disclosures, the Fed and Jerome Powell announced a full review of the ethics rules regarding financial activities authorized for its officials. The Fed policeman has also looked into the issue.
The four-year term of Jerome Powell comes to an end next February and the White House, which appoints the future president before a confirmation from Congress, has so far remained silent on his intentions.
