The

White
House
on
Thursday

nominated
Christy
Goldsmith
Romero
as
chair
of
the


Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corp.
(FDIC),
putting
her
on
track
to
head
the
U.S.
bank
regulator
following
the
scandal-induced
resignation
of
Martin
Gruenberg.

Goldsmith
Romero,
who
must
still
be
confirmed
by
members
of
the


U.S.
Senate,
has
been
a
commissioner
at
the

Commodity
Futures
Trading
Commission
(CFTC)
since
March
2022.
She
has
more
than
20
years
of
experience
as
a
federal
attorney
and
financial
regulation
leader
under
four
U.S.
presidents.

Her
career
includes
a
12-year
stay
at
the


Department
of
the
Treasury,
where
much
of
her
time
was
spent
as
the
Special
Inspector
General
for
the
Troubled
Asset
Relief
Program
(TARP).
The

highly
controversial
TARP
was
implemented
in
the
wake
of
the

subprime
mortgage
crisis
and
allowed
the
federal
government
to
become
a
shareholder
in
more
than
700
banks.

In
November
2023,
Gruenberg
and
the
FDIC
became
embroiled
in
scandal
after
an

investigation
by
The
Wall
Street
Journal
uncovered
years
of
sexual
harassment
and
misogyny
that
created
a
“toxic
work
environment.”
The
report
noted
that,
in
2020,
”the
agency’s
inspector
general
found
the
FDIC’s
policies
for
preventing,
identifying
and
disciplining
sexual
harassment
fell
short.”

Last
month,
an
independent
investigation
by

Cleary
Gottlieb
Steen
&
Hamilton
LLP,
a
New
York-based
law
firm,
“confirmed
a
workplace
culture
rife
with
pervasive
sexual
misconduct,
discrimination
and
retaliation,“
according
to

reporting
from
Politico.
Although
the
investigation
did
not
call
for
Gruenberg’s
resignation,
it
also
questioned
whether
he
had
the
“moral
authority”
to
imposed
needed
reforms
and
detailed
instances
in
which
Gruenberg
“lost
his
temper
and
berated
staff.“

A
few
weeks
later,
Gruenberg
announced
his
resignation
upon
the
confirmation
of
his
successor.
He
has
been
a
member
of
the
FDIC
board
of
directors
since
2005,
serving
two
separate
stints
as
chair
as
well
as
multiple
stints
as
acting
chair.

Reuters

reported
that
Senate
confirmation
hearings
for
Goldsmith
Romero
could
begin
as
early
as
next
month,
with
the
new
chair
potentially
in
place
prior
to
the
November
presidential
election.

U.S.
Rep.
Patrick
McHenry
(R-N.C.),
the
chairman
of
the
House
Financial
Services
Committee,
issued
a
statement
Thursday
following
the
nomination
of
Goldsmith
Romero.

“Another
day
with
Martin
Gruenberg
at
the
helm
of
the
FDIC
is
one
too
many,” McHenry
said.
“Chair
Gruenberg’s
successor
must
be
prepared
to
hit
the
ground
running
to
implement
the
Cleary
Gottlieb
recommendations
and
end
the
egregious
misconduct
that
has
come
to
define
the
agency
during
his
tenure.

“If
confirmed,
Christy
Goldsmith
Romero must
immediately
begin
taking
steps
to
reverse
the
toxic
culture
overseen
by
Gruenberg
to
rebuild
trust
between
FDIC
employees
and
management.
The
Senate
must
move
forward
with
confirmation
proceedings
expeditiously
to
curtail
Chair
Gruenberg’s
ability
to
further
damage
the
agency
and endanger
financial
stability.”

Goldsmith
Romero
was
also
an
adjunct
professor
of
law
at
Georgetown
University
Law
Center
and
the
University
of
Virginia
Law
School
from
2019
to
2021.
She
taught
courses
in
securities
regulation,
cryptocurrency
regulation
and
federal
oversight.

She
also
spent
six
years
at
the


Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC),
including
as
counsel
to
chairs
Mary
Schapiro
and
Christopher
Cox
during
the
financial
crisis
of
the
late
2000s.
She
earned
a
law
degree
from
Brigham
Young
University
and
an
undergraduate
degree
from
Old
Dominion
University.

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