A top US bank regulator resigned on Monday after an independent report found evidence of widespread sexual misconduct and a “patriarchal” culture at the agency he leads.
“In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed,” Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg said in a statement.
“Until that time, I will continue to fulfill my responsibilities as FDIC Chairman, including transforming the FDIC’s workplace culture,” he added.
Gruenberg has led the FDIC since 2005, under both Republican and Democratic presidents, and was recently reappointed to the regulator’s top job by President Joe Biden.
His resignation letter came after the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee joined his Republican colleagues on Monday in calling for his resignation following the release of a report commissioned by the FDIC to look into allegations of workplace misconduct made by in a series of articles by Wall. Street Journal.
Ruto on the first state visit by a Kenyan leader to the US in two decades
“There must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a statement. “These changes start with new leadership, who must fix the organization’s toxic culture and put the women and men who work there — and their mission — first.”
The report, which was released earlier this month, found that the FDIC “failed to provide a workplace safe from sexual harassment, discrimination and other interpersonal misconduct” and that there was a “patriarchal, insular and hateful culture” at the agency.
He said a “widespread fear of retaliation” had led to under-reporting of misconduct and that the response from management had been “inadequate and ineffective”.
The report also examined reports that Gruenberg had a reputation at the FDIC for being short-tempered and found that some employees had “deeply troubling exchanges in which he was extremely ‘cruel’, ‘aggressive’ and ‘upset.’
France’s ‘Erin Brockovich’ vs. Goodyear
The report’s authors said that while Gruenberg’s behavior was not “a root cause of sexual harassment and discrimination in the service, the workplace culture ‘starts at the top.’
Responding to Gruenberg’s offer to resign, a White House spokesman thanked Gruenberg for his “willingness to remain at the FDIC until his successor is confirmed in order to continue to protect our nation’s financial stability.”
“The President naturally expects government to reflect the values โโof decency and integrity and to protect the rights and dignity of all workers,” they said in a statement, adding that Biden would soon nominate a new presidential candidate “the who is committed to these values”.
Source: AFP