House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)
is demanding top banking regulatory officials testify regarding allegations of
workplace misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
McHenry sent letters to FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg, Acting
Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu and FDIC Director Johnathan McKernan after
an independent investigation uncovered evidence of sexual harassment and
discrimination at the FDIC. He also requested testimony from representatives at
the law firm Cleary Gottlieb, which conducted the investigation and provided a
detailed report with their findings.
The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a
two-panel hearing on June 12, at 10 a.m. McKernan, Hsu and a representative
from Cleary Gottlieb will testify on the first panel and Gruenberg will testify
on the second panel.
“It’s time for Chair Gruenberg to step aside. The
independent report released today details his inexcusable behavior and makes
clear new leadership is needed at the FDIC,” McHenry said following the release
of the report. “This report confirms the toxic workplace culture at the
FDIC—which starts at the top—has led to entrenched and widespread misconduct at
the agency. The FDIC must be held to the same standards of conduct it imposes
on the entities it regulates. The agency’s culture must be overhauled. Our banking
system needs regulators who are focused on the safety and soundness of our
financial institutions.”
McHenry and other Republicans on the committee called for
Gruenberg to resign in light of the report’s findings. Gruenberg announced his
intention to resign at the end of June, but the fact that he remains in his
position prompted the committee members to hold him up to scrutiny for his
leadership and actions.