US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida is leaving office early. Clarida announced yesterday (local time) that he will be leaving on January 14, two weeks before the end of his office on January 31. No reason was given. But last week, The New York Times (“The New York Times”) again reported on Clarida’s problematic stock deals. This is now to be investigated.
Then Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to immediately release any information about the deals. Warren said there were concerns that Clarida was trading stocks at the time based on insider information about planned decisions by the Federal Reserve in the face of the looming coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Clarida was a Professor of Economics at Columbia University. At the central bank, he was primarily responsible for communicating monetary policy decisions. Fed Chair Powell praised Clarida’s work. His contribution will have a lasting impact on central banks, as Powell declared yesterday: “I will miss his wise and important advice.”