Courtesy of Pam Martens
Trader on the Open Market Desk at the New York Fed
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Simon Potter, who runs the Federal Reserve’s open market operations at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is stepping down at the end of this week, as is Richard Dzina, head of the New York Fed’s Financial Services Group. Wall Street is buzzing over the fact that the two are long-tenured executives at the New York Fed; are exiting simultaneously, and with only a four-day notice to the public and the markets – suggesting that their departure may not have been voluntary.
The praise lavished on the pair in the press release issued today by John Williams, President of the New York Fed, also suggests that an effort is being made to soften the blow of their surprise departure.
Potter is responsible for carrying out the monetary policy mandate of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) by supervising the execution of transactions for the System Open Market Account (SOMA). This is done via the New York Fed’s Open Market Trading Desk which has speed dials to the mega banks on Wall Street. Potter is the Manager of SOMA as well as Executive Vice President of the New York Fed’s Markets Group.
The minutes of the FOMC’s April 30 to May 1, 2019 meeting carries this assessment by Potter:
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