|
Press Releases
Sheila C. Bair sworn in as 19th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June
26, 2006 |
|
Sheila C. Bair was sworn in today as the 19th Chairman of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Martin J. Gruenberg, Vice Chairman
of the FDIC, had served as Acting Chairman since Donald E. Powell resigned
on November 15, 2005.
"I am pleased to be joining the FDIC at such an important time. There
are
many critical issues facing the agency – from implementation of deposit
insurance reform to our ongoing work on Basel II and IA," said Chairman
Bair. "I've spent most of my career in the financial services arena,
focusing on the banking sector in recent years, so I am very familiar with the
FDIC's important work. I am looking forward to the challenges that lie
ahead, and working closely with our highly experienced Board and excellent staff.
"I would like to pay tribute to Don Powell and his many accomplishments
as FDIC Chairman, not the least of which is enactment of comprehensive deposit
insurance reform legislation. I would also like to thank my colleague Marty Gruenberg
for his outstanding stewardship of the agency over the past several months."
Ms. Bair's experience includes serving as a Commissioner on the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, Senior Vice President for Government Relations of
the NYSE Stock Exchange, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the
U.S. Department of the Treasury, and, most recently, Professor at the University
of Massachusetts.
Chairman Bair's recent work focused heavily on the banking sector. As the
Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions, she was charged with
helping to develop the Administration's positions on banking policy issues.
She worked closely with Treasury's own banking regulatory bureaus, the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision,
as well as the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC. Chairman Bair's research
at the University of Massachusetts also dealt extensively with banking and related
issues. In addition, as an academic, Ms. Bair served on the FDIC's Advisory
Committee on Banking Policy.
Ms. Bair received a B.A. from Kansas University and a J.D. from Kansas University
School of Law. She is married to Scott P. Cooper and has two children, Preston
Cooper, 13, and Colleen Cooper, 6.
###
Congress
created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public
confidence
in
the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures
deposits at the nation's 8,790 banks and savings associations and
it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying,
monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives
no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.
FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet
at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html)
and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center
(877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-63-2006
|
