House is close to naming derivatives regulator Christy Goldsmith Romero to head the FDIC, succeeding Martin Gruenberg Christy Goldsmith Romero would succeed Martin Gruenberg, who has agreed to resign By Andrew Ackerman and Andrew Restuccia June 10, 2024 7:14 pm ET Christy Goldsmith Romero is a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Photo: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg News The White House is close to naming derivatives regulator Christy Goldsmith Romero to head the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., replacing the beleaguered banking agency’s longtime chairman Martin Gruenberg. Gruenberg bowed to pressure to resign from the FDIC in May after an external investigation found widespread sexual harassment and other misconduct at the agency and lawmakers in both parties berated his leadership. He said he would step down after a successor is confirmed by the Senate. White House officials have also discussed two other women for the job but Goldsmith Romero has emerged as the front-runner, according to people familiar with the matter. A formal announcement could come later this week, though President Biden hasn’t made a final decision, the people said. Goldsmith Romero is currently a Democratic member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where she has served since March 2022. She previously served as a special inspector general for the financial-crisis-era Troubled Asset Relief Program at the Treasury Department. Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee criticized Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg over a report that revealed widespread sexual harassment at the agency. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg News If confirmed, Goldsmith Romero would be tasked with overseeing an overhaul of the FDIC’s culture, a tall order at the roughly 6,000-strong agency. A 234-page report, prepared by a law firm hired after The Wall Street Journal published a series of stories about misconduct at the FDIC, included excruciating details: examiners visiting brothels on work trips, women at the agency facing lewd comments from supervisors, and police being called to the agency’s hotel outside Washington where employees stay—and often drink excessively—during training. Gruenberg had planned to remain at the FDIC until Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) called for his ouster on May 20, days after a pair of brutal congressional hearings. Brown suggested that Gruenberg should resign only after a successor had been confirmed. That has allowed Democrats to avoid a scenario in which the FDIC’s Republican vice chairman, Travis Hill, takes over, leaving the agency’s board deadlocked and stalling the Biden administration’s financial-regulatory agenda. Brown is expected to move quickly to advance any nominee out of his committee, but there is limited time for the full Senate to act ahead of the November elections. White House officials have also discussed Federal Housing Finance Agency director Sandra Thompson and fellow CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson for the job.
Man, I feel sorry for her. All that FDIC seems to do is clean up the mess created by those at Federal Reserve and the Treasury.
%% MOST likely she does fine. Found out she has been counsel to chair Chris Cox SEC + SEC chair Mary S. And also interesting ,investigator of financial fraud as SEC lawyer