Donna Tanoue Chairman Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) United States of America

Donna Tanoue took office as the 17th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on May 26, 1998. As Chairman, Tanoue oversees the agency that provides $100,000 in insurance for deposits at banks and thrift institutions. In addition to insuring deposits, the FDIC examines and supervises nearly 6,000 banks and it manages bank failures to limit the disruption they might have on local and national economies. Congress created the FDIC in 1933 to maintain public confidence in the banking system.

Under the leadership of Tanoue, the FDIC took an aggressive approach to supervising federally insured financial institutions to ensure their readiness for the Year 2000 date change. The Corporation engaged in an extensive program of Y2K public education and outreach in which FDIC officials participated in hundreds of outreach meetings and other Y2K events throughout the country. Tanoue personally appeared on network television news programs to describe the industry's preparedness for Year 2000, assuring the public that there would be no significant disruptions in the banking system because of Y2K, and in late 1999 she held press conferences in major cities throughout the country to raise public awareness of banking readiness.

In addition to the Y2K effort, Tanoue has focused attention on emerging risks in the financial institution industry. Under her direction, the FDIC has proposed raising capital standards for subprime lending. Further, because of recent changes in the business of banking and innovations in computer technology that create greater opportunity for financial irregularities, investigating fraud at banks is among the highest priorities for FDIC examiners. The FDIC has also recently refined its system of setting deposit insurance premiums to capture more accurately the risks that institutions pose to its insurance funds. Finally, under Tanoue's direction the FDIC has implemented its first corporate strategic plan to promote diversity in its workforce.

Before she became FDIC Chairman, Tanoue was a partner in the Hawaii 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, Tanoue was Commissioner for Financial Institutions for the State of Hawaii. In that post, she was the primary state regulator for state-chartered banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, industrial loan companies, credit unions, and escrow depository companies. Tanoue also served as Special Deputy Attorney General to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for the State of Hawaii from 1981 to 1983. Tanoue received a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1981 and a B.A. from the University of Hawaii in 1977.

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