Former Hawai'i lawyer to step down as FDIC head

Advertiser Staff and News Services

WASHINGTON — Donna Tanoue, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. since May 1998, announced yesterday that she had submitted her resignation to President Bush.

Donna Tanoue's term expired in October. Advertiser library photo

Tanoue was a partner in the Hawai'i law firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, which she joined in 1987. She specialized in banking, real estate finance, and governmental affairs.

From 1983 to 1987, she was Hawai'i's commissioner for financial institutions. She also served as the state's special deputy attorney general to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs from 1981-'83.

A Clinton appointee whose term expired in October, Tanoue had agreed to remain in the position until a successor was confirmed.

In her letter to Bush, Tanoue said "the time has come to move on to new challenges." She has not yet decided on future plans, FDIC spokesman Phil Battey said.

Under Tanoue, the FDIC recently recommended to Congress sweeping changes in the deposit insurance system, including making all banks pay for insurance according to their risk of failure and tying the $100,000 limit on account coverage to inflation.

Tanoue has said the changes are needed to keep banks safe for depositors and keep credit flowing to Americans.

Donald Ogilvie, executive vice president of the American Bankers Association, said Tanoue "set the tone of cooperation and maintained an open dialogue with the banking industry."

Powell is president and chief executive officer of First National Bank in Amarillo, Texas, and chairman of the board of regents for the Texas A&M University System.

The FDIC, an independent federal agency, was established in 1933 to maintain public confidence in the banking system after runs on banks during the Depression. It oversees the two insurance funds for banks and thrifts, which currently contain a total $42 billion.