Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell declined to voice clear support for the leaders of the Dallas and Boston Fed banks when asked about their recently disclosed stock trading and pledged to change the rules that allowed such market activity by policy makers.
Mr. Powell was responding to questions about stock trading by Dallas Fed leader Robert Kaplan and Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren that was disclosed by their banks. The officials last year actively traded stocks and other investments, some of which are sensitive to changes in monetary policy, while helping to set central bank policy.
