Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Jelena McWilliams today announced the appointment of Nick Podsiadly as General Counsel. In addition, FDIC veteran Harrel Pettway has been promoted to Senior Deputy General Counsel, and Leonard Chanin, has joined the FDIC as Deputy to the Chairman.
"I have had the privilege of working with Nick, Harrel and Leonard, and I know firsthand the tremendous wealth of knowledge that they bring to the table. The FDIC is fortunate to have them," said FDIC Chairman McWilliams.
Mr. Podsiadly will start on April 8 and replace Charles Yi, who announced in early March that he planned to step down as General Counsel at the end of the month. Mr. Podsiadly is currently serving as the Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati, OH, where he oversees regulatory legal matters, supervisory examinations, regulatory interactions, and government affairs. Prior to joining Fifth Third in July 2017, he was Senior Vice President for Regulatory Policy at Regions Financial Corporation, Birmingham, AL, and served as Vice President and Senior Counsel, Office of Legislative Affairs and Chief Counsel at the American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Podsiadly began his career working for two Senate committees. He served as Investigative Counsel for then-Chairman Charles E. Grassley on the Senate Committee on Finance and as counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee to then-Ranking Member Sen. Charles E. Grassley. In these roles, he served in various capacities including as lead counsel overseeing the Committee's national security, criminal justice, constitutional law, drug policy, and homeland security portfolios.
He received a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Iowa State University.
Mr. Pettway was Deputy General Counsel in the FDIC's Legal Division prior being named as Senior Deputy General Counsel. He joined the FDIC in July 2015 as an Assistant General Counsel for Labor, Employment and Administration. A year later, Mr. Pettway was promoted to Deputy General Counsel for Corporate Operations, where he was responsible for advising the FDIC Chairman and Board members on corporate authorities; labor and employment law; contracts and procurement; the Freedom of Information Act; privacy; information security; ethics; dispute resolution; and litigation.
Prior to joining the FDIC, Mr. Pettway was Deputy General Counsel at the Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir, VA. He was also Chief Legal Officer at the Defense Technical Information Center, Fort Belvoir, VA.
Mr. Pettway received a Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law; a Post-Graduate certificate from Harvard University; a Master of Business Administration from Troy University; a Master of Science in Joint Strategic Leadership from The Air War College; and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Economics from the State University of New York. He also is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Chanin joined the FDIC on March 18 as Deputy to the Chairman. In that capacity, he will advise the Chairman on consumer protection issues, including further expanding access to banking services for unbanked and underbanked consumers, strengthening consumer research functions at the FDIC, and building upon the activities of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion (ComE-IN). He will also provide advice on FDIC Tech Lab's (FDiTech) efforts to promote the adoption of innovative and transformative technologies in the financial services sector.
Prior to coming to the FDIC, Mr. Chanin was Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Fifth Third Bancorp. He joined the bank in 2017 where he advised the bank on federal consumer protection laws. Prior to Fifth Third Bank, Mr. Chanin advised financial institutions and other businesses on consumer protection laws as a partner at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP in Washington, D.C.
His federal service includes his role as Assistant Director of the Office of Regulation at CFPB, where he was responsible for implementing federal consumer financial services laws, and two decades in the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board, most recently as the division's Deputy Director. During his tenure at the Fed, Mr. Chanin provided legal opinions and policy recommendations to the Board of Governors, drafted and reviewed rules implementing federal consumer financial services laws, and worked with other federal banking agencies.
Mr. Chanin holds a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in political science, cum laude, from American University.
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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's banks and savings associations, 5,406 as December 31, 2018. It promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars—insured financial institutions fund its operations.
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