Biden nominates CFTC Commissioners to top spots at FDIC and Treasury Department

U.S. President Joe Biden tapped the Commodity Future Trading Commission's Christy Goldsmith Romero to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Kristin Johnson to a top role at the Treasury Department, according to a statement released from the White House on Thursday.

Both Democratic CFTC commissioners have pushed the agency to issue rules or guidance to protect consumers and address conflicts of interest in crypto. Romero has warned of "contagion risk" in crypto markets, drawing comparisons to the industry and the financial crisis in 2008. Romero also sponsors the CFTC's Technology Advisory Committee, which voted earlier this year to submit a report to the commission calling on the government and industry to work to understand decentralized finance.

CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson, who was nominated on Thursday to become Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at Treasury, has said the CFTC should "immediately develop regulation" around the custody of assets.

"There is an immediate path for the CFTC to reinforce the protection of customer assets with segregation or separation of customer property rules," Johnson told The Block last year. "These are rules that simply say you cannot commingle house money and the proprietary funds of your customers."

Johnson has also previously outlined concerns around decentralized finance and artificial intelligence.

The Biden administration is pushing for the first nomination hearings to start the week of July 8, according to Reuters.

FDIC

Current FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg has been criticized for his leadership of the agency following reporting from The Wall Street Journal that cited misconduct at the FDIC including sexual harassment and bullying. Gruenberg has said he would stay on until a successor is confirmed, according to multiple news reports.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called for the Senate to "move quickly" on picking a new leader for the FDIC.

“Christy Goldsmith Romero, who has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate twice, would bring to the FDIC decades of financial services experience, including valuable experience as the Special Inspector General protecting taxpayers at the Troubled Asset Relief Program," Brown said in a statement on Thursday. "She has proven herself to be a strong, independent, and fair regulator who is not afraid to do what’s right."