Fed’s Richard Clarida to leave vice chair position two weeks early

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida intends to resign from the board of governors on Jan. 14, two weeks before his term is due to expire. 

Clarida’s unexpected early departure follows the revelation last week that he had sold at least $1 million of shares in a U.S. stock fund in February 2020 before buying a similar amount of the same fund a few days later on the eve of a major central bank announcement, according to an amended financial disclosure.

While the purchase transaction was previously disclosed and reported by Bloomberg News in October, the sale of the fund shares was first included in an amended financial-disclosure form filed with the government last month. The New York Times first reported the latest filing.

“Rich’s contributions to our monetary policy deliberations, and his leadership of the Fed’s first-ever public review of our monetary policy framework, will leave a lasting impact in the field of central banking,” Chair Jerome Powell said in a statement Monday.

Clarida has been a member of the board and vice chair since Sept. 17, 2018. President Biden has nominated Fed Governor Lael Brainard to succeed Clarida. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on her nomination on Thursday, two days after Powell appears before the panel to discuss his nomination for a second term as chair.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida
Richard Clarida, vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Clarida backed further gradual increases in interest rates while delivering an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy in his maiden speech as a monetary policy maker. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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