Fed’s Musalem Reports Multiple Real Estate Transactions | Company Business News

(Bloomberg) — A new set of financial disclosures for Federal Reserve regional bank heads released Friday show that St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem and his spouse sold and purchased several residential real estate holdings last year. 

The documents show the couple sold seven properties in Rockville, Maryland, between April and November of 2024 and purchased nine residential real estate properties in Baltimore between June and November.

Of the properties sold, one was valued between $250,000 and $500,000 and the others were worth between $500,000 and $1 million. Four of the properties purchased were valued up to $50,000 and three were noted as being worth between $100,000 and $250,000. One was worth between $50,000 and $100,000 and another was valued at between $1 million and $5 million.

Asked for comment on the transactions, a spokesperson for the St. Louis Fed said, “President Musalem’s spouse operates real estate companies and regularly conducts real estate transactions.”

The spokesperson added that, as listed on the disclosure, Musalem is joint owner.

None of the transactions violate rules governing the personal investment activity of Fed policymakers. Those were rules tightened in 2021 after multiple officials reported controversial transactions. The changes restricted active trading, prohibited the purchase of individual securities and boosted disclosure requirements among policymakers and senior staff members. The guidelines also state that officials should avoid the appearance of acting on insider information.

The rules don’t prohibit direct investments in real estate, one of the most interest-rate sensitive sectors in the US economy.

The transactions reported by Musalem began the same month he joined the central bank and five months before the Fed began easing policy. Officials lowered the benchmark federal funds rate by one percentage point last year from September to December.

Fed officials’ financial transactions received renewed scrutiny during the pandemic after it was revealed that two policymakers had engaged in multiple trades as the US central bank was taking extreme steps to shore up financial markets and the economy. 

Real estate is an interest-rate sensitive sector that can be affected by the Fed’s policy decisions. Former Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren faced criticism after disclosures revealed he made multiple sales and purchases of real estate investment securities in 2020. Rosengren stepped down in 2021 citing health issues.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid also reported Friday he sold a residential investment in Burleson, Texas, in November worth between $250,000 and $500,000, his disclosure showed.

A spokesman for Schmid said he “has fully complied with all financial holding and disclosure requirements established for Federal Reserve bank presidents.”

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