As requested by Board Chair Jerome Powell, we investigated the 2017–2021 trading activities of Dr. Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
We found that Dr. Bostic violated Federal Open Market Committee rules and Reserve Bank policies governing blackout periods, financial disclosures, prohibited holdings, and preclearance requirements. We did not find any evidence that Dr. Bostic's trades were based on confidential FOMC information, and he did not have financial conflicts of interests. We independently verified that Dr. Bostic relied on third-party managed accounts and that neither he nor his personal investment advisors had the ability to direct specific trades. Nonetheless, Dr. Bostic was responsible for ensuring that all trades and investments made on his behalf complied with all applicable rules.
Based on the totality of these findings, Dr. Bostic also created an "appearance of acting on confidential FOMC information" under the FOMC blackout rule and an "appearance of a conflict of interest" that could cause a reasonable person to question his impartiality under FRB Atlanta's code of conduct.
