Dallas Fed President Kaplan Resigns Over Trading Controversy

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan resigned on September 27, 2021, after disclosure of extensive stock trading during the 2020 pandemic. Kaplan had made multiple trades worth over $1 million in companies like Amazon, Apple, and Delta Air Lines while serving as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee. Though later cleared of legal wrongdoing, the trades raised significant ethical concerns about potential conflicts of interest during a period of unprecedented federal market intervention. His resignation was part of a broader controversy involving Fed officials’ trading activities, which prompted Fed Chair Jerome Powell to pledge a review and tightening of trading rules for federal officials.