By Piet Schröder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, told colleagues on Tuesday that he would retire from the agency effective Jan. 19, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to bring new leadership to the appoint an agency.
In a message to employees of the FDIC, one of the nation’s top banking regulators, Gruenberg said he had informed President Joe Biden of his decision.
“It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve at the FDIC. I have especially appreciated the privilege of working with the dedicated public servants who carry out this agency’s critically important mission,” he wrote.
The pending departure of Gruenberg, a Democrat and Wall Street critic who had been a senior leader at the FDIC for nearly two decades, comes at a critical time for the agency—more than eighteen months since three major banks failed and ahead of what’s to come. more will happen. This is expected to mark a major change in banking regulation under Trump.
Gruenberg has held on to his job since November 2023, when a Wall Street Journal report exposed widespread misconduct at the FDIC. The report was corroborated by a scathing external review that also questioned Gruenberg’s leadership.
Upon his departure, the role of FDIC chairman will pass to Travis Hill, the agency’s vice chairman and a Republican who is also under permanent consideration for the top job by Trump transition officials, Reuters reported this month.
Gruenberg, 71, had been with the FDIC since 2005 and is the longest-serving FDIC board member in the agency’s 89-year history. During that time, he served as chairman twice: once under President Barack Obama and once under Joe Biden.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder)
