Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren will retire this week, nine months earlier than planned, citing a worsening kidney condition.
Rosengren, 64, had served as head of the regional Fed bank for 14 years. The Boston Fed made the announcement in an emailed statement Monday.
“In a message to the bank’s staff, Dr. Rosengren revealed for the first time that he qualified for the kidney transplant list in June of 2020, during the pandemic, upon the worsening of a kidney condition he has had for many years,” the Boston Fed said. “Delaying the need for dialysis might be improved if he makes lifestyle changes now to lessen the risks of his condition.”
Rosengren’s decision also follows recent revelations about trading activity last year by himself and Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan. The disclosures prompted Fed Chair Jerome Powell to ask Fed staff to take a new look at internal ethics rules around financial holdings and activities by senior Fed officials. The intention of the move was to identify “ways to further tighten those rules and standards,” a Fed spokeswoman said Sept. 16.
The trading activity by Rosengren and Kaplan was scrutinized for the potential conflict of interest at a time when the Fed is already under fire for emergency pandemic policies that critics say have elevated stock prices and benefited richer Americans.
Rosengren and Kaplan announced Sept. 9 that they would both sell their individual stock holdings by Sept. 30. Both said their transactions, which were detailed in annual financial disclosures submitted by all 12 regional Fed chiefs, complied with Fed rules.