Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg announces plans to resign once successor is nominated, confirmed

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced Monday that he will step down as soon as his successor is confirmed by the Senate, after multiple reports revealed a culture of sexual harassment, misconduct and retaliation at the agency under his leadership.

Gruenberg’s announcement comes after months of pressure from members of Congress and mounting allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct against him and other FDIC officials.

“It has been my honor to serve as Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Director of the FDIC since August 2005. During that time, I have faithfully carried out the FDIC’s vital mission of maintaining public trust and the stability of our banking system. We’ve done it,” Grünberg said. in a statement.

“In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my role as soon as a successor is named. Until then, I remain committed to fulfilling my responsibilities as Chair of the FDIC, including transforming the FDIC’s workplace culture.”

Early Monday morning, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called on President Biden to nominate a new FDIC chairman to replace Gruenberg.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal published a series of bombshell reports documenting a long record of misogynistic and abusive behavior in government agencies under Gruenberg. An investigative report from the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton corroborated the magazine’s findings, and Gruenberg apologized.

Gruenberg, a Democrat, has served on the FDIC board since 2005. He served as the agency’s chair, vice chair, and acting chair several times before President Biden appointed him chair in 2023.

Mr. Brown is so far the highest-ranking Democrat seeking Mr. Gruenberg’s replacement or resignation. Like many of his fellow Democrats, the Senate Banking Committee chairman previously urged the FDIC chairman to make changes at the agency, but did not urge him to resign.

“After chairing last week’s hearing, reviewing the independent report, and receiving further outreach from FDIC staff to the Banking and Housing Committee, I came to one conclusion: Fundamental changes are needed at the FDIC. We need it,” Brown said in a statement.

“These changes start with new leadership. They must fix the agency’s toxic culture and put the women and men who work there and their mission first,” he continued.

Republican lawmakers across the board have called for Mr. Gruenberg to resign, accusing his Democratic colleagues of keeping the FDIC chairman in place to continue promoting Mr. Biden’s regulatory agenda.

Meanwhile, Democrats accused Republican lawmakers of trying to oust Mr. Gruenberg in order to block the administration’s various banking policies.

Updated at 5:25 p.m. EDT.