Senators urge probe into FDIC's withdrawal of bank examiner job offers

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with colleagues Senators Raphael Warnock, Chris Van Hollen, and Lisa Blunt-Rochester, has called for an investigation into the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) recent decision to rescind over 200 job offers for bank examiners. This request is directed at the FDIC Inspector General.

The Senators are concerned that this move by the FDIC Acting Chairman could jeopardize the stability of the banking system. The request comes in light of findings related to the March 2023 collapse of Signature Bank, which resulted in a significant loss of $2.4 billion for the Deposit Insurance Fund. Reviews have pointed to supervisory failures at the FDIC, exacerbated by persistent understaffing issues.

In December 2023, the FDIC Board of Directors addressed these concerns by approving a budget that increased bank examiner positions. However, a hiring freeze instituted by President Trump reportedly led to the rescinding of more than 200 job offers.

"The FDIC OIG has previously concluded that staffing shortages…were one of two ‘primary causes for delays in supervisory activities’ related to Signature Bank’s failure in March 2023," stated the letter from the Senators. They further asked for an evaluation "to determine whether it undermines progress on the FDIC OIG’s previous recommendations to the agency."

Given these implications, they argue that an evaluation would align with the mission "to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness at the Agency."