By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg told colleagues Tuesday he would retire from the agency effective January 19, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to name new leadership to the agency.

In a message sent to employees at the FDIC, one of the country’s top bank regulators, Gruenberg said he had informed President Joe Biden of his decision.

“It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve at the FDIC. I have especially valued the privilege of working with the dedicated public servants who carry out the critically important mission of this agency,” he wrote.

The pending departure of Gruenberg, a Democrat and Wall Street critic who had been a senior leader at the FDIC for nearly two decades, comes at a critical time for the agency – more than 18 months since three big banks failed and and ahead of what is expected to be a major shake up of bank regulation under Trump.

Gruenberg had clung to his job since November 2023 when a Wall Street Journal report exposed widespread misconduct at the FDIC. The report was confirmed by a damning external review which also called into question Gruenberg’s leadership.

Upon his departure, FDIC chair role will pass to Travis Hill, the agency’s vice chair and a Republican who Trump transition officials are also considering for the top job permanently, Reuters reported this month.

Gruenberg, 71, had been at the FDIC since 2005 and is the longest-serving FDIC board member in the agency’s 89-year history. During that time he served as its chair twice – once under President Barack Obama and the second under Joe Biden.