Title: Travis Hill Appointed as Acting Head of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation by President Trump

Authored by: Pete Schroeder

On Monday, President Donald Trump, freshly inaugurated, declared Travis Hill, the vice chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as the interim chief of the agency, as per the announcement by the White House.

Hill, who boasts an impressive record in banking policy and governance in Washington for more than ten years, is also the leading candidate for the permanent position. He has been serving the FDIC as its vice chair since 2023. Before this role, he was a senior advisor to Jelena McWilliams, the then-FDIC Chairman during Trump’s initial tenure.

Hill succeeds Martin Gruenberg as FDIC Chairman, however, no comments were received from Hill’s representative.

Before joining the FDIC, Hill was a counsel member of the Senate Banking Committee. He played a pivotal role in propelling legislation that relaxed post-crisis regulations for regional banks, creating a unique and “tailored” regulatory system excluding the largest lenders in the country.

During his tenure at FDIC, Hill expressed his reservations on the attempts by Democrat regulators to enforce stringent new capital rules on larger banks, a policy often referred to as the “Basel III endgame.” He also voiced his opposition to the plans of implementing a new framework that would require large asset managers to demonstrate their non-influence over banks where they hold significant stakes.

Hill will now helm an agency undergoing a substantial restructuring in the aftermath of the exposure of rampant sexual harassment and employee ill-treatment within the watch-dog agency.

Hill has advocated for a thorough revision of the FDIC’s culture and policies, which includes pinpointing and holding accountable those employees who have been found guilty of improper conduct.