Jelena McWilliams sworn in as FDIC chairman

Jelena McWilliams has been sworn in as the 21^st chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). McWilliams was sworn in Tuesday (June 5) and succeeds Martin Gruenberg, who served on the FDIC board since Aug. 22, 2005, and was vice chairman and acting chairman before becoming chairman Nov. 29, 2012.

“It is an honor and a privilege to join the FDIC as chairman,” McWilliams said in a statement. “I look forward to working closely with my fellow board members and counterparts at other regulatory agencies.

“I would like to thank Martin Gruenberg for his service, dedication and leadership during his nearly 13 years at the FDIC.”

Before she joined the board, McWilliams was executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati. Previously, she was chief counsel and deputy staff director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, assistant chief counsel with the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee and an attorney for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

McWilliams also worked in corporate and securities law for Morrison & Foerster LLP in Palo Alto, Calif., and Hogan Lovells LLP in Washington, D.C. She earned a law degree and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

President Donald Trump appointed McWilliams to serve as chairman of the FDIC for a five-year term, and to a six-year term on the FDIC Board of Directors.