FDIC chair out after toxic work culture report

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg testifies before Congress

FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg will step down

(Image credit: Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Martin Gruenberg will step down as soon as his successor is confirmed, Gruenberg and the White House said Monday. Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) had called for new leadership at the FDIC hours earlier, saying he no longer believed Gruenberg could fix the bank regulator's toxic work culture, detailed in an independent review released May 7.

Who said what

President Joe Biden "will soon put forward a new nominee for FDIC chair" who is committed to protecting consumers and the "rights and dignity of all employees," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Sam Michel.

The report on FDIC workplace problems, from the law firm Cleary Gottlieb, found a "patriarchal, insular and risk-averse culture" where employees suffered sexual harassment from supervisors and Gruenberg was seen as "someone who was angry and upset and who could not control his temper."

What next?

With Gruenberg staying on until his replacement is seated, the FDIC's five-member board will retain its Democratic majority and can push forward "a proposed overhaul to capital requirements for the country's largest banks," The New York Times said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.