Martin Gruenberg, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, will step down following a scathing independent investigation detailing pervasive sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying at the agency charged with regulating the banking sector.
“In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed,” Gruenberg said in a statement on Monday. “Until that time, I will continue to fulfill my responsibilities as Chairman of the FDIC, including the transformation of the FDIC’s workplace culture.”
Gruenberg’s announcement of his intent to resign comes hours after Sen. Sherrod Brown, a top Democrat who leads the Senate Banking Committee, called for “new leadership” at the FDIC. Gruenberg joined the FDIC board of directors almost two decades ago. He’s served as chair of the agency for nearly 10 of the past 13 years.
President Joe Biden will “soon” announce a new nominee to lead the FDIC, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sam Michel said in a statement on Monday following the news. “We expect the Senate to confirm the nominee quickly,” he added. However, there’s no guarantee that will happen, since confirmation processes have been known to drag on for months or longer, at which point Biden may no longer be in office.
With Gruenberg remaining until a successor is named, there won’t be a situation where Vice Chair Travis Hill, a Republican appointee, automatically becomes chair, leaving the agency deadlocked with one other Republican and two Democratic members on the FDIC’s board of directors.
That would have likely stalled significant and controversial banking regulations, such as ramped-up capital requirements, from taking effect.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Joe Weber
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.offthepress.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.