FDIC gives FAA vet green to lead ‘professional conduct’ office

The board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Wednesday approved the appointment of an executive who directs the agency’s Office of Professional Conduct.

Hansel Cordeiro, who created the Federal Aviation Administration’s anti-harassment policy, has been tapped to lead the effort to receive, investigate and report complaints about interpersonal conduct within the FDIC workplace.

The FDIC established the Office of Professional Conduct in June, in response to a conviction exhibitionse in The Wall Street Journal last November, in which dozens of employees alleged the agency tolerated rampant sexual misconduct and retaliation.

“The threat of retaliation and payback is real, regulators rule by fear in the FDIC,” said one employee wrote to Cleary Gottliebthe law firm that released an audit into the agency’s work culture in May. “Nobody trusts those in charge, and even if this doesn’t get into the hands of higher-ups, I’m using a VPN and someone else’s cell phone to write this. … I’m still afraid that talking will come back to haunt me.”

After the audit became public, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said offered to resign – but only after the Senate confirms his successor, a measure aimed at ensuring Democrats retain control of the agency. President Joe Biden nominated Christy Goldsmith Romerowho serves in this role as a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Senate Banking Committee kept Goldsmith Romero’s confirmation hearing in July, but the nomination must still go to a vote in the full Senate.

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 identified deficiencies in the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. Cordeiro began his government career in the Office of Personnel Management, the FDIC said.

Grünberg 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 take disciplinary actions related to misconduct.

“To restore credibility with our workforce, we must act quickly on the recommendations of the (Cleary Gottlieb) report and demonstrate our commitment to making fundamental changes,” Gruenberg told the House Financial Services Committee..