(Feb. 4, 2022) FDIC Board Chairman Jelena McWilliams is scheduled to step down today (Friday, Feb. 4), following through on the announcement she made late last month.
In her resignation letter submitted to the White House on New Year’s Eve, McWilliams gave no indication why she was resigning, three-and-a-half years into her five-year term (she was nominated by President Donald Trump [R] in December 2017 and confirmed by the Senate in late May 2018).
Since then, the White House has been silent about who will succeed McWilliams, either as a permanent chairman of the agency’s board or as an acting chairman to take over after she leaves today. The only member of the agency’s board who was appointed (and confirmed by the Senate) specifically to serve on the panel is Board Member (and former chairman) Martin Gruenberg, a Democratic appointee. He is serving in a “holdover” capacity since his term expired in December 2018. Unless he resigns, he may remain on the board until a successor is confirmed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, McWilliams received a note of acknowledgement from her regulatory colleagues at NCUA with a joint statement signed by all three board members.
NCUA Chairman Todd M. Harper said he had “seen firsthand the expert knowledge, considerable skill, and strategic insights she provides in issues and making decisions.” Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman said McWilliams is “an inspiring example of the American dream, an immigrant from a statist regime who then achieved here at the highest levels.” Board Member Hood said she “played a pivotal role in creating an effective regulatory environment for the U.S. banking system.”
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NCUA’s Harper, Hauptman, and Hood Commend Chairman McWilliams for Her Service to the FDIC
(Jan. 7, 2022) The leadership of the FDIC will be changing next month following the surprise resignation New Year’s Eve by board Chairman Jelena McWilliams. In a letter to President Joe Biden (D), McWilliams said her resignation would be effective Feb. 4.
In her letter, McWilliams gave no indication why she was resigning now, three-and-a-half years into her five-year term (she was nominated by President Donald Trump (R ) in December 2017 and confirmed by the Senate in late May 2018). She did note that it has been a “a tremendous honor to serve this nation,” and that she “did not take a single day for granted” during her service.
McWilliams’ resignation will leave the FDIC Board with only one appointed member, holdover board member (and former chairman) Martin Gruenberg, a Democratic appointee. His own five-year term on the board expired in December 2018; he has been serving in the absence of a successor being confirmed by the Senate. Neither Biden, nor Trump before him, nominated a successor.
The other appointed seat on the board, that of vice chairman, has been vacant since April 2018. It was filled by Thomas Hoenig, whose term expired; he had served since November 2012.
The other seats on the five-person board are held, by statute, by the leaders of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Chairman Rohit Chopra, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu. Both are Democratic appointees.
So far, the White House has given no indication who it will name as McWilliams’ successor.
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