Adriana D. Kugler, who abruptly resigned as Federal Reserve governor in August, repeatedly violated the central bank's trading rules, according to a report released Saturday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
The new disclosures showed several purchases and sales of shares of individual stocks, including Apple, Southwest Airlines and Cava, a restaurant group – many of which took place during the so-called blackout period before political meetings where officials are not allowed to make such deals.
Ms. Kugler stated in the disclosure forms that the transactions were conducted by her husband without her knowledge and that “her spouse had no intent to violate any rules or policies.” Ms. Kugler is married to Ignacio Donoso, an immigration lawyer.
The Fed tightened trading rules in 2022 after finding that several policymakers were actively participating in financial markets while the central bank took aggressive steps to support the economy early in the pandemic. Two regional reserve bank presidents in Boston and Dallas resigned in 2021 over the controversy. The dealings of Richard H. Clarida, the vice chairman, also came under scrutiny. Mr. Clarida resigned in January 2022.
Raphael W. Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, also violated the rules and had to correct his disclosure forms. The central bank's internal regulator concluded in 2024 that its transactions appeared to profit from confidential information. On Wednesday he announced that he would retire at the end of February.
The rules, which apply to other senior Fed members as well as spouses and children of politicians, exclude trading in individual companies and limit purchases to mutual funds and other diversified investments. They also banned trading in cryptocurrencies, foreign exchange and commodities. Transactions during the roughly two-week period before policymakers gather to vote on interest rates have long been banned.
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