FDIC Chair Planning To Resign

(USNewsBreak.com) – A report in The Wall Street Journal in November detailed the toxic culture within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It listed assault and harassment, misogyny, and more among the reasons behind women leaving the federal institution. That report prompted an internal investigation, which revealed the culture was much worse than initially disclosed. Chairman Martin Gruenberg apologized and recently announced he will step down once a replacement is chosen.

In April, five months after The Wall Street Journal released its report, law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP released its independent findings. The 234-page report provided much greater detail than the news publication. Investigators spoke with more than 500 employees and determined that multiple infractions had gone unaddressed.

Additionally, Gruenberg, responsible for the employees’ behavior, often allowed adverse incidents to pass unchecked. Management retaliated against those who complained, prompting others to avoid reporting incidents.

Adding fuel to the fire, employees reported the chairman acted as a bully with his employees, often taking overly aggressive actions. Many noted he was quick to anger. He even faced questioning in two recent congressional committee hearings regarding allegations about his temper and his handling of harassment complaints.

In the wake of the latest report, Gruenberg issued a memo to his staff apologizing for the toxic culture. However, that wasn’t enough. Lawmakers and others, including the Democratic chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Sherrod Brown (OH), called for his resignation. Brown said there “must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” which “begin with new leadership.”

In a statement on Monday, May 20, the chairman emailed the FDIC employees, notifying them that he is “prepared to step down from [his] responsibilities once a successor is confirmed.” He said it “has been [his] honor to serve” at the agency, and he believed he had “faithfully carried out the critically important mission of the FDIC” during his tenure.