FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg to resign after damning workplace harassment probe

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced Monday that he will resign, after a recent probe found a widespread culture of sexual harassment and discrimination at the independent agency.

“In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed,” Gruenberg said in a statement. “Until that time, I will continue to fulfill my responsibilities as Chairman of the FDIC, including the transformation of the FDIC’s workplace culture.”

Following Gruenberg’s announcement, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sam Michel said President Joe Biden would “soon” name his nominee for the position.

“The President will soon put forward a new nominee for FDIC Chair who is committed to those values and to protecting consumers and ensuring the stability of our financial system, and we expect the Senate to confirm the nominee quickly,” Michel said.

The announcement follows an earlier statement from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who Monday morning called on Biden to “immediately nominate a new Chair” and said the Senate should “act on that nomination without delay.”

There “must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” Brown, who chairs the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said in a statement. “Those changes begin with new leadership, who must fix the agency’s toxic culture and put the women and men who work there — and their mission — first.”

With his statement, Brown broke from fellow Democrats, who largely condemned the allegations but refrained from pushing for Gruenberg’s resignation, instead calling for him to drive changes at the agency.

Law firm Cleary Gottlieb in April released a scathing report detailing an alleged culture of “sexual