Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said Monday he will be leaving his post with just a few weeks left on his term.
"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," Fed ChairmanClarida's exit comes amid heightened scrutiny over what he had described as pre-planned portfolio rebalancing on Feb. 27, 2020.
Markets dropped on Feb. 24 amid worries that the spreading coronavirus could cause substantial economic damage. On Feb. 26, Fed policymakers huddled to discuss what policy moves they might take to combat what eventually would become a full-blown pandemic. Within weeks, the Fed would cut its benchmark interest rate to zero and institute an unprecedented array of lending and liquidity programs to help the economy and financial markets function.
Clarida's announcement did not mention anything about the controversy, which has been a focal point of