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FDIC acting chairman says agency created two offices to address culture; workforce cuts aim to avoid RIF
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Summary
Acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill responded to a March OIG report on workplace culture by announcing two new offices to address misconduct and described a workforce-optimization plan targeting staffing below 5,500 while trying to minimize involuntary RIFs.
A March Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that "previously identified and continue[s] to find that the FDIC has not established an accountable workplace culture, including inadequate ... harassment prevention program," was raised by a reporter during the FDIC’s first-quarter 2025 briefing.
Grama Sanneh of American Banker asked whether the agency agreed with the OIG assessment and what steps had been taken. Acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill said cultural transformation remains a priority and that the agency has established two new offices that are now live: the Office of Professional Conduct and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, which Hill said have been tasked with assigning discipline for misconduct.
"Those two offices are now live," Hill said, adding that he believes those offices address the "core root cause of some of the cultural problems at the FDIC," while acknowledging broader work continues.
On workforce changes, Hill described a workforce-optimization plan developed internally that used a section-by-section review to set a target organizational chart. He said the agency has offered a series of incentive programs (voluntary separation options) intended to reach that staff level while minimizing the need for a Reduction in Force (RIF). Hill said the headcount at the start of the year was "a little bit above 6,700" and that the agency expects the final staffed level after the process to be "somewhere below 5,500." He also cautioned that some people who accepted separation incentives remain on administrative leave and that overall numbers are therefore in flux.
What happens next: Hill said the agency is continuing to implement the cultural reforms and workforce plan; he declined to forecast specifics about board appointments or to disclose private conversations with outside reviewers, saying such interactions have been "very constructive, very collaborative."
