WASHINGTON (AP) — A government investigation into Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic's securities trades and investments has found he violated several of the central bank's ethics policies.
The Fed rules violations “created the appearance” that Bostic acted on confidential Fed information and that he had a conflict of interest, but the Fed's Office of Inspector General concluded there were no violations of federal insider trading or conflict of interest laws, according to a report issued Wednesday.
The probe reviewed financial trades and investments in a roughly five-year period starting in 2017 made by several investment managers on Bostic's behalf — transactions that in October 2022 he said he had been initially unaware of.
Among the findings, investigators concluded that securities trades were made on Bostic's behalf multiple times during “blackout” periods around meetings of the central bank's policy-making Federal Open Market Committee. The investigation also found that Bostic at times did not report securities transactions and holdings, or failed to do so accurately, on annual disclosure forms.
Bostic also at one point was in breach of the Fed's policy against holding more than $50,000 in U.S. Treasury bonds or notes.
In 2022, Bostic acknowledged that many of his financial trades and investments inadvertently violated the Fed's ethics rules and said he took action to revise all his financial disclosures.
At the time, the board of the Atlanta Fed accepted Bostic’s explanations for the oversights and announced no further actions.
Still, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell asked the Fed’s Office of Inspector General to review Bostic’s financial disclosures.
FILE - In this image taken from video, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic speaks from Atlanta during a webinar sponsored by the 12 regional Fed banks to address the lack of racial disparity in the field of economics, April 13, 2021. (AP Photo/File)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are extending their operating agreement with Broward County for five more years, ensuring that the team remains in the market through 2033 and likely well beyond.
County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the revised terms, which include the Panthers giving $51.5 million to eliminate remaining debt on the county-owned arena where the team plays. The current deal runs through 2028.
The updated terms also give the county two five-year options to extend the agreement even further. If those extensions are not picked up, the county will have to return some or all of the $51.5 million debt payment to the Panthers.
“It was important to the county to keep the Panthers in Broward County long term,” Panthers President and CEO Matthew Caldwell said. “We're excited about it. It's a great, great step forward for our long-term future.”
What was approved Tuesday was a term sheet. Binding documents have yet to be written, though that process is expected to be relatively smooth now that this stage has been cleared. There are concessions from both sides: The county will invest $25 million annually for capital expenditures and expenses related to the operating of Amerant Bank Arena, while the team agreed to have Broward County advertising on player helmets, to continue using local businesses as vendors whenever possible and to donate at least $11.7 million over the next nine years toward local causes and promoting youth hockey.
“Public-private partnerships have to be good for both sides, and this one is,” Caldwell said.
The team recently spent well over $65 million to refurbish the War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale, east of the team's game-night home in Sunrise, and turn that building into the franchise's practice facility with new retail and dining options. The exact amount of what the team spent on that project isn't known; $65 million was the budget, and all the Panthers have conceded publicly is that their final costs were much higher.
“People are excited that we're here for the long-term, that we're extending," Caldwell said.
The Panthers, including playoff games, exceeded 1 million in attendance last season for the first time in team history. The team — which struggled with poor attendance and constantly dealt with relocation rumors before the franchise turned around its fortunes — was ninth in the NHL in average regular-season attendance last season.
Michael Udine, one of the county commissioners, said from the dais at Tuesday's meeting that “something special” has happened with the Panthers and the Broward community in recent years.
“When I went to the first hockey game in South Florida about 30 years ago and the ice was melting when you were in the stands, if you would have said in this short period of time that we'd be No. 9 in the NHL during the regular season for attendance, I think people would have thought that you were on drugs,” Udine said. “It's a testament to what the Panther organization has done in Broward County and in South Florida.”
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FILE - Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice lifts the Stanley Cup trophy after Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, Monday, June 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers defeated the Oilers 2-1 (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE -Fans wait in line to watch Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, at a watch party at Amerant Bank Arena, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, FiIe)
