Who Is Jelena McWilliams? Donald Trump Nominates New FDIC Chair

President Donald Trump will nominate Jelena McWilliams, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp’s top attorney, to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the White House said Thursday.

According to a report by American Banker, the White House was considering McWilliams’ name for the position for months, but the official announcement was not made till now.

If confirmed by the Senate, McWilliams, Fifth Third Bancorp's chief legal officer since January, would helm the key financial regulator that is still being run by an appointee of former President Barack Obama.

McWilliams graduated in political science from University of California Berkeley, and then studied at the university's school of law.

She previously worked as a chief counsel for former Senate Banking Committee chairman Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala) between 2015 and 2017. She has also worked for Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is the current chairman of the committee.

From 2007 to 2010, she was the attorney at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Some industry sources said they are hopeful that 43-year-old McWilliams as the head of FDIC will be open to new innovations within the financial industry.

The report also stated that some bankers believe that McWilliams will take the FDIC in a new direction, referring to small dollar loans.

McWilliams’ current company, Fifth Third Bancorp, had supported a plan which was ideated by the Pew Charitable Trusts to offer small dollar loans. But the plan did not receive the approval of the federal banking regulators.

McWilliams will be taking over from Martin Gruenberg, whose term ended on Nov. 29. He can continue serving until a successor is in place, Fox Business reported.

Gruenberg, however, can keep his place on the FDIC board.

According to a report by Fox Business, Gruenberg as FDIC chief imposed strict rules on big Wall Street banks during his tenure. In a speech on Nov. 14, he also warned banks against deregulation.

Reports said McWilliams’ nomination moves Trump closer to finalizing his team which will be working toward his promise to rework the financial system adopted under Obama.

On Nov.3, Trump elected lawyer and investment banker Jerome Powell as the head of the Central Bank. He also nominated American businessman Joseph Otting as the 31st Comptroller of the Currency on Nov.27.

The FDIC, along with other banking agencies such as Federal Reserve and the Comptroller of the Currency, oversees the banking system in the U.S.

The FDIC’s task is to prevent bank runs by managing failures in banks and insuring deposits. It is also responsible for the supervision of community banks. FDIC, along with the Federal Reserve, reviews the biggest banks in the U.S. and check whether they have credible “living walls,” a measure which shows that they have the capacity to go through bankruptcy without needing taxpayer bailouts.

The Fox Business report stated that McWilliams’ personal opinions on the banking system weren’t well known, as she hasn't aired them unlike other Trump's financial regulator nominees.

Prior to McWilliams, the White House had nominated longtime congressional stafferJames Clinger as the chairman of FDIC. However, he withdrew, citing personal reasons.