Top central banker's Clinton donation puts Fed in political crosshairs
Revelations that Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard donated to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has created a tough situation for the central bank, at a time when Donald Trump has been accusing the Fed of making policy based on political bias.
Federal Election Commission records show that Brainard has donated $2,700 to the Clinton campaign, the maximum allowed for personal contributions.
A day after Fed Chair Janet Yellen found herself in the hot seat on Capitol Hill over the Brainard donation, Kansas City Fed President Esther George danced around the issue on Thursday in a CNBC interview.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George
"The law allows for Fed officials to make those kind of donations. There's nothing illegal about that," George told "Squawk Box." In general, George said: "We're always sensitive to what appearances are, and that's built into our code of conduct and other things."
"We know in today's environment there are a lot of attention on the Fed and a lot of questions about how it operates. I, for myself, try in many matters to think about these issues of appearances," George said. "It is up to the individual's discretion," George said. "Lael Brainard and other Fed officials make those judgments for themselves."
Fed Chair Janet Yellen
During the question and answer period of Wednesday's House Financial Services Committee hearing on banking regulations, New Jersey Republican Rep. Scott Garrett pressed Yellen on the Brainard donation. Garrett also asked Yellen about what he said were media reports that Brainard was "angling for a top job" in a Clinton administration should the former secretary of state win the November election.
Yellen said she has "absolutely no awareness" of those reports, and like George, stressed campaign donations by Fed officials are legal. "I don't think there's a conflict of interest there."
"What's important to me is whether or not [in] decision-making, or collective decision-making, I see politics being brought to bear. … I have never seen that on the part of any of my colleagues," Yellen said.
Oil prices dropped on Friday as investors took profits
Oil prices dropped on Friday as investors took profits following a 7-percent rise in the last two sessions, amid doubts that OPEC's first planned output cut in eight years would make a substantial dent in the global crude glut.
U.S. crude CLc1, was down 28 cents at $47.55, after closing up 78 cents and having touched a one-month high of $48.32 that session.
Reference: CNBC,Reuters
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