December 19, 2022

Ahead of Confirmation Vote, Brown Urges Colleagues to Support Marty Gruenberg's Nomination For FDIC Chair

Today on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, called on his colleagues to support the nomination of the Honorable Martin J. Gruenberg to be a Member and Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Gruenberg has served as Acting Chair of the FDIC since February.

Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:

Mr./Madame President,

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be a Member and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC.  

Mr. Gruenberg is an extraordinary and qualified nominee who came out of the Banking and Housing Committee with bipartisan support. Senator Toomey, the Ranking Member of the Banking Committee and someone who I have not always agreed with on nominations, voted in favor of Mr. Gruenberg’s nomination as part of a bipartisan package to fill the FDIC Board.

Thank you, Pat.

Mr. Gruenberg’s credentials speak for themselves. He is a career public servant and the longest serving member of the FDIC Board. The Senate has confirmed him unanimously five times. He first joined the FDIC in 2005 after spending over 25 years on Capitol Hill, including working as a Senior Counsel on the Senate Banking Committee for Senator Sarbanes.

Since joining the FDIC Board, Mr. Gruenberg has served as Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Acting Chairperson, and Member.

Take a minute and think about that: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Acting Chairperson, and Member.

I have served on the Banking Committee since 2007. I do not remember any FDIC nominee having come before the Committee with that level of expertise. 

Since becoming Acting Chairperson in February 2022, Mr. Gruenberg has wasted no time getting to work for the American people.

He has focused on strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act to expand access to credit and investments in low- and moderate-income communities.

And now he is reviewing the FDIC’s bank merger process to ensure it assesses the impact bank mergers have on competition and access to financial services in communities across the country

Under his leadership, the FDIC is evaluating the risks posed by cryptocurrencies and digital assets to consumers and to the overall safety and soundness of the banking system.

As I said during his nomination hearing, Mr. Gruenberg has seen our financial system at its highest and lowest points.

During the Financial Crisis when Wall Street and big corporations crashed our economy, Mr. Gruenberg worked on a bipartisan basis with then-FDIC Chair Sheila Bair to pick up the pieces. 

He helped restore trust and confidence that our money in banks is safe. 

He then helped implement reforms passed by Congress to strengthen capital requirements and protect depositors from future financial crisis.

He brings this experience and dedication with him as our country emerges from the pandemic. 

I can think of no better person to serve as Chair of the FDIC.

Before I conclude, I want to note that, in addition to Mr. Gruenberg, the Senate is also considering the nominations of two other seats to the FDIC Board.

Once we have Mr. Gruenberg and the other two FDIC nominees, Travis Hill and Jonathan McKernan, confirmed, the agency will have in place for the first time since 2015 a full Board of Directors. 

Again, I urge my colleagues to support Martin Gruenberg’s nomination to the FDIC Board.

###