On December 31, 2021, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that Chairman Jelena McWilliams was resigning effective February 4, 2022.
Jelena McWilliams was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018 to serve a five-year term as chairman of the independent regulatory agency. But following repeated disagreements with her Democratic colleagues over potential banking revisions, she issued a statement on New Year’s Eve saying she would leave her post on Feb. 4.
The move is likely to give the Biden administration more control over the agency, and more leeway to aggressively police bank mergers and push the industry to prepare for the risks of climate change. Democrats hold a majority on the board, and Martin J. Gruenberg, an appointee of President Barack Obama, will serve as chairman temporarily, his third stint in the post.