Bernanke’s Assets Tumbled as Much as 29% as U.S. Stocks Fell

By Michael McKee and Scott Lanman

July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s assets tumbled by as much as 29 percent last year as declining stocks eroded the value of his annuities and other investments, according to his annual financial disclosure forms.

The filings, released by the Fed yesterday, show Bernanke and his family owned $852,000 to $1.9 million in financial assets in 2008, down from $1.2 million to $2.5 million in 2007. The forms, published by the Office of Government Ethics, require officials to report only a range in the value of holdings.

The Fed chairman’s two largest assets in both years were TIAA Traditional, recorded as an annuity, and CREF Stock Large Cap Blend, a variable annuity. While both were valued at $500,001 to $1 million in 2007, the CREF stock fund fell to a range of $250,001 to $500,000 last year, according to the documents.

A retirement account invested in high-yield bonds at BlackRock Inc. held its value in a range of $15,001 to $50,000, and a BlackRock large-cap fund remained in the $1,001 to $15,000 range.

The funds were run by Merrill Lynch & Co. when Bernanke invested in them. Merrill merged them with BlackRock, and the funds were renamed, in 2007. As widely held mutual funds, they are exempt from regulations barring the Fed chairman, and other members of the Fed board, from owning stock in institutions involved in banking or finance.

The central bank hired BlackRock last year to manage billions of dollars in assets it acquired in the rescue of Bear Stearns Cos. and the bailout of American International Group Inc.

Canadian Bonds

The disclosure forms show Bernanke sold most or all of his holdings in Canadian Treasury bonds. They were valued in 2008 at between zero and $1,001. In 2007 he reported their worth at between $50,001 and $100,000.

Bernanke, 55, who succeeded Alan Greenspan as chairman in 2006, received a salary of $191,300 in 2008, an amount set by Congress.

A former economics professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, Bernanke received between $50,001 and $100,000 in royalties for a textbook he wrote, published by Pearson, Inc. The range was unchanged from his 2007 filing.

A second textbook, published by McGraw-Hill Cos., earned Bernanke between $100,001 and $1,000,000 in royalties, up from $50,001 to $100,000 in 2007. The royalties were his biggest sources of income after his salary.

Bernanke reported no liabilities, individual stocks, gifts or travel expenses in 2008.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael McKee in New York at mmckee@bloomberg.net; Scott Lanman in Washington at slanman@bloomberg.net