FDIC Board reportedly reaches ‘consensus’ on probe of execs over sexual harassment allegations

A “consensus” on how to investigate allegations of alleged sexual harassment misconduct by executives of the federal insurer of bank deposits was reportedly reached by the agency’s board during a closed, non-public meeting Tuesday, a member of the board said in a statement.

However, that board member – a Republican appointee like the vice chairman of the panel – was critical of the agency’s relative speed in reaching that reported consensus.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) “noticed” (or announced) the executive session of its board Tuesday morning, under the headline “Memorandum and Resolution on Investigations by the Office of Professional Conduct.” However, the notice was not accompanied by a statement from the board’s chairman, Martin Gruenberg, a Democratic appointee.

Instead, the notice was accompanied with statements by Board Member Jonathan McKernan and Vice Chairman Travis Hill.

McKernan’s lengthy statement indicated that the decision reached by the board was too little, too late. “This belated consensus follows five months of debate, delays, and false starts,” McKernan stated. “Under the approach adopted today, the newly established Office of Professional Conduct (OPC) will retain and oversee law firms that will investigate allegations of executive misconduct. Hopefully, we can expect completed investigations in the spring, with disciplinary decisions not long after that,” he stated.

The FDIC Board member asserted that “accountability for wrongdoing” for executives at the agency will be delayed until a year after release of the so-called Cleary report – a report commissioned by the FDIC Board to look into allegations of sexual harassment at the FDIC released last spring – and “likely after some of these executives have left the FDIC.”

“There can be no doubt that, despite my and Vice Chairman Hill’s persistent efforts, FDIC leadership has failed to deliver prompt accountability,” he charged.

Hill, in his statement, echoed points made by McKernan. He also said that, although he appreciated that the board reaching a consensus on a “path forward,” the “the months of unnecessary delay is another example of the lack of leadership and accountability at the agency.”

Chairman Gruenberg has announced he will step down from his position as soon as the Senate confirms his successor. The White House in June nominated Christy Goldsmith Romero to be a member and chairman of the FDIC Board. However, the Senate has not yet voted on the nomination.

Gruenberg has faced criticism for his lack of temper control in the report issued last spring related to claims of sexual harassment at the agency. Gruenberg was not linked to harassment in the report; however, the report pointed to the chairman’s hot temper as a contributing factor to reports of harassment not being adequately addressed by the agency.

Statement by Vice Chairman Travis Hill

Statement by Director Jonathan McKernan

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