The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s board Wednesday approved the appointment of an executive to lead the agency’s Office of Professional Conduct.
Hansel Cordeiro, who established the Federal Aviation Administration’s anti-harassment policies, has been tapped to head up work to receive, investigate and report on complaints of interpersonal conduct within the FDIC workplace.
The FDIC established the Office of Professional Conduct in June, in response to a damning exposé in The Wall Street Journal last November, in which dozens of employees alleged the agency tolerated rampant sexual misconduct and retaliation.
“The threat of retribution and payback is real, supervisors rule by fear in the FDIC,” one employee wrote to Cleary Gottlieb, the law firm that issued an audit of the agency’s work culture in May. “Nobody trusts those in charge, and even though this is not getting into the hands of senior execs, I’m using a VPN and someone else’s cell phone to write this. … I still fear that talking will come back to haunt me.”
After the audit went public, FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg offered to resign – but only after the Senate confirms his successor, a move thought to ensure Democrats retain control of the agency. President Joe Biden nominated Christy Goldsmith Romero, who serves on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for the role. The Senate Banking Committee held Goldsmith Romero’s confirmation hearing in July, but the nomination has yet to go to a full-Senate vote.
Cordeiro most recently served as executive director of accountability and strategic business management at the FAA, where he led the agency’s anti-harassment program and oversaw the handling of harassment, sexual misconduct and retaliation claims, as well as anti-harassment training for 45,000 employees and contractors, the FDIC said.
He previously served at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he rooted out deficiencies in the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. Cordeiro began his government career at the Office of Personnel Management, the FDIC said.
Gruenberg testified in May that the FDIC sought to establish an independent professional conduct office that would report to the FDIC board, to better handle complaints and execute misconduct-related disciplinary action.
“To restore credibility with our workforce, we must act swiftly on the [Cleary Gottlieb] report’s recommendations and demonstrate a commitment to making fundamental change,” Gruenberg told the House Financial Services Committee.
