“The withdrawals (of liquidity) were aimed at covering family expenses,” a Fed spokesman told AFP on Tuesday.
Several officials of the Fed were questioned about their stock transactions, and two of them recently resigned, while the ethical rules of the body are reviewed.
The titles sold by Jerome Powell were not concentrated in any particular sector.
But those deals, made just before a Wall Street crash, fuel questions about conflicts of interest.
These sales were revealed by the progressive site The American Prospect, which asks not to renew his mandate, while Democrats are divided on the issue.
Fed Vice President Richard Clarida also declared large transactions made in February 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, just before the Fed lowered its rates to sustain the economy.
Powell’s term expires in February.