Sheila Bair to Leave FDIC in July

Chair weathered financial crisis, oversaw closure of 350-plus banks

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted May 9, 2011 6:10 PM CDT

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Sheila Bair to Leave FDIC in July — FDIC Chair Sheila Bair testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, before the Senate Banking Committee. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sheila Bair is stepping down as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. this summer, ending a five-year term in which she helped craft the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. The FDIC says Bair will leave her post as one of the government's top bank regulators on July 8.

Bair was among the first officials to raise concerns about the explosion in high-risk lending to borrowers with bad credit. Under her tenure, the agency closed more than 350 banks since the crisis peaked in late 2008. The FDIC guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000. The FDIC says Bair will chair a final board meeting during the first week of July. (More Sheila Bair stories.)

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