(Reuters) -Republican lawmakers on the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Tuesday called for an urgent briefing from a government watchdog to address allegations of pervasive sexual harassment at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina and other Republicans issued the call a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that female employees had left the FDIC due to a “toxic” culture that the agency had long failed to address.
FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg faced questioning on the matter during a hearing on Tuesday, telling the U.S. Senate Banking Committee he was “deeply troubled” by the WSJ reporting and that a “safe environment” for staff was a top priority.
Gruenberg is also due to appear Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee along with other top regulators.
“Reports allege that the agency maintains a culture that perpetuates sexual harassment, misogyny, and other acts of misconduct,” the Republican lawmakers said in a letter to Tyler Smith, the FDIC’s acting inspector general, calling it a “severe departure” from the agency’s mission.
The FDIC’s performance has come under harsh scrutiny following a costly series of large bank failures earlier this year, two of which occurred during the agency’s supervision.
Gruenberg on Monday told FDIC staff that the agency would not tolerate sexual harassment and announced it had hired an outside law firm to review its internal practices.
The FDIC Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported in 2020 that the agency’s efforts to prevent sexual harassment were inadequate. The OIG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but told Reuters on Monday that since the 2020 report, the FDIC had addressed all of its prior recommendations.
“As is our practice, we will continue to monitor management challenges at the FDIC as they are brought to the attention of the OIG, including matters related to sexual harassment,” said Jon Lebruto, the FDIC’s chief of staff.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison and Pete Schroeder; Editing by Anna Driver and Paul Simao)
