We have reported before on the ongoing allegations and investigations into harassment and misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC.) This process is still underway, people involved in the investigation are growing restive, at least one major figure at FDIC who promised to resign is still in place, and a prominent Senator is running interference in the whole affair.

There's a lot to unpack here, so let's take it in stages.

Last May, a report was released documenting an institutional history of harassment and abuse of employees at the FDIC.

Previously on RedState: FDIC Scandal Nearing a Conclusion - Is a Hard Rain About to Fall?

Investigations into the ongoing scandals at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) may be coming to a head. On Tuesday, law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton released a report detailing the results of their investigation into harassment and hostile work environments at the FDIC.

The report released Tuesday that chronicled yearslong harassment and abuse of employees at the FDIC is kicking off a new round of questions about the future of agency head Martin Gruenberg — with the fate of Biden-era regulators’ banking agenda hanging in the balance.

Note that name, Martin Gruenberg - we'll be coming back to it.

Later that same month (May 2024), the House Financial Committee, after grilling Martin Gruenberg over the allegations, called on Gruenberg to resign and, later the same day, Martin Gruenberg agreed to do so.

Previously on RedState: House Financial Services Committee Calls for Resignation of FDIC Chairman Gruenberg

UPDATE: FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg Will Resign Over Toxic Workplace Issues

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced late Monday that he will resign following an extensive investigation into working conditions at FDIC, including accusations of rampant sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

“In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed,” Gruenberg said in a statement on Monday. “Until that time, I will continue to fulfill my responsibilities as Chairman of the FDIC, including the transformation of the FDIC’s workplace culture.”    

Gruenberg’s announcement of his intent to resign comes hours after Sen. Sherrod Brown, a top Democrat who leads the Senate Banking Committee, called for “new leadership” at the FDIC. Gruenberg joined the FDIC board of directors almost two decades ago. He’s served as chair of the agency for nearly 10 of the past 13 years.

What's more, they have a Senator running interference for these investigations: the "progressive" Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) no less. She seems much less concerned with these harassment and abuse allegations, for some reason. Also last May:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren defended the tenure of beleaguered FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg on Thursday, saying Republicans wanted him to resign to have more control over the regulation of banks.

“Your resignation would do nothing to improve the culture of the FDIC but it would give Republicans a veto over bank policy,” Warren said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing featuring Gruenberg.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH,) the current Chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, seemed a trifle more concerned.

The review details episodes of harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct that no one should ever have to endure, especially in their workplace, and that can never be tolerated. Period.

Chair Gruenberg, you owe workers at the FDIC, this committee, and the American people clear answers and decisive action.

That includes your plan for restoring the FDIC’s culture and regaining the trust of your employees.

That brings us to the present, and we note that on the FDIC website for their Board of Directors, Martin Gruenberg, six months after the information above was released, still appears as Chairman. Evidently, a successor has not been confirmed.

OK. All caught up.

On Tuesday, FDIC Director Jonathan McKernan released a statement that said in part:

Today, at a Board meeting that was again closed to the public over my objections, the Board finally reached consensus on how to investigate allegations of misconduct by FDIC executives. This belated consensus follows five months of debate, delays, and false starts.

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.

The problem of course is that will be too little too late. Thanks to months of debate, delays, and false starts at the Board level, accountability for wrongdoing will be delayed until a year after the Cleary report 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.

These are people with tremendous influence over the nation's banking sector - and this sure appears as though they are deliberately slow-walking these investigations. The key questions are:

Why is Martin Gruenberg still the Chairman of the FDIC? Why has a replacement not yet been named? Why not nominate Jonathan McKernan for that role, since he seems to be the one member who is concerned with setting FDIC's culture to rights? 

More to the point, what influence might the new, GOP-controlled Senate and House might bring to bear on fixing all this? Or the re-inaugurated President Trump?

This mess has been brewing for far too long. It's time for some heads to (metaphorically) roll at FDIC, and in all candor, Martin Gruenberg should receive the first pink slip.