New FDIC leader shakes up senior executive ranks

WASHINGTON — The board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has approved a slate of senior agency appointments this week, the latest sign of the changing of the guard at the agency.

In a press release issued Wednesday morning, the FDIC announced three new corporate officers: Kymberly Copa is chief of staff, Daniel Bendler becomes chief operating officer, and Harrel Pettway takes over as general counsel.

“Kym Copa, Dan Bendler and Harrel Pettway bring deep knowledge and experience to their new roles,” Martin Gruenberg, who became acting chairman Monday, said in the release. “I look forward to continuing to work with them as they help implement our priorities in 2022.”

The trio replaces Brandon Milhorn, who previously served as both chief of staff and COO, and Nicholas Podsiadly, the agency’s former general counsel. Both officials departed the FDIC on Friday, Feb. 4, the same day that former Chair Jelena McWilliams left office.

Drew Angerer/Bloomberg

Copa, a 31-year veteran of the FDIC, is a longtime ally of Gruenberg who served as his deputy from 2011 to 2018, the period when he last served as the agency’s chair under the Obama administration. Before becoming Gruenberg’s deputy, Copa served as senior counsel in the FDIC’s legal division.

Bendler, another 31-year veteran at the agency, will continue to be in charge of administrative affairs. The release on Wednesday noted that Bendler had “overseen the agency’s response to the pandemic, as well as other corporate-wide initiatives.”

Pettway, who joined the agency in 2015, last served as deputy general counsel at the FDIC under McWilliams. As former deputy general counsel for corporate operations, he was responsible for advising FDIC leadership on “corporate authorities, labor and employment law, contracts and procurement, the Freedom of Information Act, privacy, information security, ethics, dispute resolution, and litigation,” the press release said.

Gruenberg became the FDIC’s chief for the third time since the George W. Bush administration after McWilliams resigned on Feb. 4, following a December power struggle between her and the board's Democratic majority.

On Monday, Gruenberg announced the FDIC’s priorities for the remainder of 2022 would focus on establishing tougher standards for bank mergers, cryptocurrency-related activities and risk management tied to climate change.