White House Announces Intent to Nominate Gruenberg as FDIC Chair

On Monday, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Martin Gruenberg to be chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Gruenberg has been acting chairman of the agency since February 5 of this year when Republican-appointed Jelena McWilliams stepped down, and he previously chaired the board from 2012 to 2018. He has served on the FDIC Board of Directors since 2005.

In his opening statement before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday, Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) applauded the nomination.

“Marty is a well-respected and seasoned regulator who has worked to protect consumers and preserve confidence in our banking system,” Brown said. “As many of you know, Marty played an instrumental role in helping implement many of the Dodd-Frank reforms needed to enhance financial stability and manage risks to our banking system. With Marty’s experienced leadership, I have no doubt that FDIC can continue to address risks to our financial system, increase access to affordable financial services, and ensure that banks honor their commitment to communities across the country through the Community Reinvestment Act.”

In September, two Republicans were nominated to the FDIC board: Travis Hill was nominated to be vice chair and Jonathan McKernan was nominated to be a director. Hill was a senior advisor to former FDIC chair Jelena McWilliams, and McKernan is currently a senior counsel at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Agency watchers were surprised about the Republican nominations, since it would have given control of the FDIC to the panel’s Republican vice chairman with Gruenberg as acting chair. So, the Biden Administration quickly announced its intention to nominate a chairman.

If Hill, McKernan, and Gruenberg are confirmed, it will be the first time the FDIC board has been full since 2015. Though Gruenberg has been serving on an expired term for almost four years, he could serve in that role indefinitely. The other board positions are held by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra and Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu.

Gruenberg will still need to be confirmed before the full Senate.