A report on office tradition on the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company launched on Tuesday revealed a broad, yearslong sample of sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of largely ladies and members of minority teams by senior officers. The findings are prone to result in one other doubtlessly bruising spherical of questions for the company’s chair, Martin Gruenberg, who’s scheduled to testify in Congress later this month.
The report mentioned the unhealthy conduct at F.D.I.C., which has the authority to watch the well being and stability of all U.S. banks however extra carefully oversees smaller establishments, affected “far too many staff” and went on “far too lengthy.”
The company’s issues had been brought on by “a patriarchal, insular, and risk-averse tradition” and a “lack of readability and credibility round inner reporting channels,” mentioned the report, ready by the legislation agency Cleary Gottlieb. It described “fiefdoms” in regional workplaces, the place senior managers protected different longtime staff from potential penalties stemming from extra junior staff’ claims of mistreatment.
Examples of the conduct, together with senior examiners texting junior ladies footage of their genitalia or taking them to brothels, had been first reported by The Wall Avenue Journal in November. Tuesday’s report was the results of an impartial investigation by Cleary Gottlieb, which was employed by a particular committee created by the company’s board after The Journal’s report.
The report questioned whether or not Mr. Gruenberg, who has labored on the company for nearly 20 years and led it for 10 of the final 13 years, might successfully proceed in his function.
“The incidents of — and ensuing fame for — shedding his mood and expressing anger with employees,” it mentioned, “might hinder his capacity to ascertain belief and confidence in main significant tradition change.” The report additionally cited Mr. Gruenberg’s “obvious lack of ability or unwillingness to acknowledge how others expertise sure troublesome interactions with him.”
In a memo to F.D.I.C. staffers on Tuesday that was shared with The New York Occasions, Mr. Gruenberg apologized for his conduct.
“To anybody who skilled sexual harassment or different misconduct on the F.D.I.C., I once more wish to specific how very sorry I’m. I additionally wish to apologize for any shortcomings on my half. As chairman, I’m finally answerable for all the pieces that occurs at our company, together with our office tradition,” he wrote.
The report didn’t suggest that Mr. Gruenberg step down or be eliminated. It prescribed new methods for safeguarding victims of abuse, a brand new function to watch tradition, extra coaching to enhance office conduct and higher reporting methods for workers experiencing mistreatment.
However it might gas new requires Mr. Gruenberg to depart. Republicans in Congress have been pushing for him to resign since final fall, whereas Democrats criticized his conduct as reported by The Journal and known as for an impartial investigation.
Greater than Mr. Gruenberg’s profession is at stake. Financial institution executives and lobbyists, who usually oppose a brand new plan proposed by federal regulators to extend capital necessities on the biggest establishments, imagine that if Mr. Gruenberg leaves the F.D.I.C., there is not going to be sufficient assist for the plan left among the many different regulators and it should be scrapped.
Mr. Gruenberg is about testify earlier than the Home Monetary Companies Committee on Could 15 and the Senate Banking Committee on Could 16 in semiannual hearings on monetary regulation.
