Jelena McWilliams to resign as FDIC chair

Jelena McWilliams will resign as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

McWilliams, who has chaired the agency since June 2018, said in an open letter to President Biden on Friday that she will step down on Feb. 4. 

“Serving the American people alongside the dedicated career professionals of the FDIC has been the highlight of my professional life,” she said in the letter. 

“Throughout my tenure, the agency has focused on its fundamental mission to maintain and instill confidence in our banking system while at the same time promoting innovation, strengthening financial inclusion, improving transparency, and supporting community banks and minority depository institutions,” she added.

The resignation comes weeks after McWilliams clashed with other members of the FDIC board. 

On Dec. 9, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra and FDIC board member Martin Gruenberg announced that the board had approved a request for information on bank merger reviews. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu also backed the effort. 

McWilliams rejected and invalidated the effort, arguing that the historical agency practices allowed her, as the FDIC chair, to block a vote on the proposal.