Biden to nominate Romero as FDIC chair post abrupt departure of predecessor

President Joe Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero to replace Martin Greunberg as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, after Gruenberg's tenure became marred by allegations of workplace abuse that led to him to resign.

Goldsmith Romero is currently a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the nation's financial derivatives regulator.

Gruenberg last month said he would resign from the FDIC, after an independent report by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton found incidents of stalking, harassment, homophobia and other violations of employment regulations, based on more than 500 complaints from employees.

Complaints included a woman who said she was stalked by a coworker and continually harassed even after complaining about his behaviour; a field office supervisor referring to gay men as little girls; and a female field examiner who described receiving a picture of an FDIC senior examiner's private parts.

The FDIC is one of several US banking system regulators. The Great Depression-era agency is best known for running the nation's deposit insurance programme, which insures Americans' deposits up to USD 250,000 in case their bank fails.