One of the United States' top banking regulators announced on Monday he would step down once President Joe Biden appoints a successor following bipartisan calls for his ouster over hundreds of accounts of sexual harassment and other misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

"In light of recent events, I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed. Until that time, I will continue to fulfill my responsibilities as Chairman of the FDIC, including the transformation of the FDIC’s workplace culture," Chair Martin Gruenberg said in a statement on Monday. 

An independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct found a workplace culture that is “misogynistic,” “patriarchal,” “insular,” “outdated” and a “good ol’ boys” club at the FDIC.

Gruenberg was first appointed to the FDIC board of directors in 2005 and served large swaths of the time since as either acting chairman or chairman under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. President Joe Biden renominated him to the role in November 2022. 

Investigators with an external law firm hired to conduct the report spoke with FDIC officials who “reported instances of Chairman Gruenberg losing his temper and interacting with staff in a demeaning and inappropriate manner.” His behavior, the report found, had a “chilling” impact on employees at FDIC.

Other current and former FDIC employees detailed in the report incidents of stalking, homophobic comments, the sending of nonconsensual explicit images, groping, verbal sexual harassment, professional retribution for turning down advances from superiors, bullying, racism and threats of physical violence. 

The FDIC is one of several banking system regulators. The Great Depression-era agency is best known for running the nation’s deposit insurance program, which insures Americans’ deposits up to $250,000 in case their bank fails.

Earlier on Monday Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the chair of the Senate’s banking committee, called on Biden to replace Gruenberg, making Brown the highest-ranking Democrat to call for the replacement of the FDIC’s chair over what he described as the agency’s “toxic culture.”

Gruenberg’s performance at congressional hearings last week, including in front of Brown’s committee, was unconvincing to the progressive Ohio Democrat. 

“​​After chairing last week’s hearing, reviewing the independent report, and receiving further outreach from FDIC employees to the Banking and Housing Committee, I am left with one conclusion: there must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” Brown said in a statement on Monday. “That’s why I’m calling on the President to immediately nominate a new Chair who can lead the FDIC at this challenging time and for the Senate to act on that nomination without delay. “That’s why I’m calling on the President to immediately nominate a new Chair who can lead the FDIC at this challenging time and for the Senate to act on that nomination without delay.”

In his statement, Brown did not call for Gruenberg to be fired. He is in the middle of his six-year term as chairman of the FDIC and if Gruenberg were to step down, Vice Chair Travis Hill, a Republican, would lead the agency. Brown instead called on President Biden to nominate a new chair for the FDIC “without delay,” which the Senate would then confirm.

Senate Republicans have been calling on Gruenberg to resign, but Democrats had been hesitant. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another progressive member of the banking committee, dispatched former aides to help him prepare for his testimony, according to Semafor. 

“Chairman Gruenberg, Republicans have called today for your resignation are engaged in a purely political exercise. They want to replace you with Vice Chairman Travis Hill,” Warren said at the hearing. “Your resignation would do nothing to improve the toxic culture at the FDIC, but it would give Republicans a veto over bank policy.”

Warren and the White House did not immediately return requests for comment on Monday. 

Last week, Gruenberg apologized to the over 500 individuals who reported misconduct to investigators.

“I accept the findings of the report and, as chairman, I take full responsibility. To anyone who has experienced sexual harassment or other misconduct at the FDIC, I again want to apologize and express how deeply sorry I am,” Gruenberg said in his opening statement at the Senate hearing. “I also acknowledge my own failures as chairman, both in failing to recognize how my temperament in meetings impacted others and for not having identified deeper cultural issues at the FDIC sooner. I am personally committed to addressing these issues.”

Sheila Bair, a former FDIC chair who served from 2006 to 2011, called on Gruenberg to step down on Monday before he announced his decision.

“I have known and worked with Chairman Gruenberg for years. But there is a desperate need for change at the FDIC. This controversy is hurting him and his agency,” wrote Bair on social media. “For his own sake and everyone at the FDIC, he should announce his intention to resign effective with the appointment and confirmation of a new Chair.”

“The FDIC was once a proud place to work. It can and will be so again,” Bair added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.