NY Federal Reserve Chairman Resigns Suddenly

Wow, that has to be a record for shortest tenure ever at the NY Fed.

His resignation letter (below), is as Dealbook notes, rather disingenuous:

Mr. Friedman was chairman of the New York Fed at the same time he was a member of Goldman’s board. He also had a substantial stake in the firm as the Fed was crafting a solution to keep Wall Street banks afloat. Denis M. Hughes, deputy chair of the board, will take over as the interim chairman, the New York Fed said in a statement. (Read Mr. Friedman’s letter after the jump.)

Because the New York Fed approved a request by Goldman to become a bank holding company, the chairman’s involvement in Goldman was a violation of Fed policy, The Wall Street Journal said in an article earlier this week.

The New York Fed asked for a waiver, which, after about two and a half months, the Fed granted, the newspaper said. During that time, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December, which have since risen $1.7 million in value

Friedman’s Resignation Letter From N.Y. Fed

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Sources:
Friedman Resigns as Chairman of New York Fed
Dealbook, May 7, 2009, 5:57 pm
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/friedman-resigns-as-chairman-of-new-york-fed/

Fed Dread
The New York Fed is the most powerful financial institution you’ve never heard of. Look who’s running it.
Eliot Spitzer
Wednesday, May 6, 2009, at 12:29 PM
http://www.slate.com/id/2217811

Friedman Quits New York Fed After Goldman Purchases
Scott Lanman
Bloomberg, May 7 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4FkPLdeGeG4&

NY Fed chair quits over Goldman role
Tami Luhby
CNNMoney.com May 7, 2009: 7:25 PM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/07/news/economy/NY_Fed_Chair_Resigns/?postversion=2009050719

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