Fed’s Kaplan says open to doing more, but ‘moral hazard’ a concern

(C) Reuters. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan speaks at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said Thursday he is “open minded about what else we need to do” to help the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, including potentially coming to the aid of non-profits and mortgage servicers.

But, he suggested in an interview with Bloomberg Television, he also wants to protect against moral hazard – bailing out those who got themselves in trouble by taking too many risks. “I am concerned about, from the Fed’s point of view at least, intervening in businesses where they were leveraged going into this,” he said, adding that any such bailouts should be up to fiscal authorities.