US FDIC special committee taps Cleary Gottlieb for sexual harassment probe

Dec 11 (Reuters) - A special committee at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's governing board has tapped the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to conduct an independent review of sexual harassment allegations and the agency's workplace culture, the top bank regulator announced Monday.

The review follows a series of Wall Street Journal reports last month according to which the FDIC had failed to eradicate toxic and misogynist workplace behavior that caused women to quit the agency.

"The team at Cleary Gottlieb will be led by Joon H. Kim, the former Acting U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jennifer Kennedy Park, and Abena Mainoo," the special committee said in the statement.

Cleary Gottlieb replaces the firm Baker Hostetler, which had initially been selected by the FDIC prior to the formation of the special committee, which comprises FDIC board members Michael Hsu, the acting comptroller of the currency, and Republican Jonathan McKernan.

McKernan and FDIC Vice Chair Travis Hill last month insisted that Chair Martin Gruenberg recuse himself from overseeing the review. (Reporting by Douglas Gillison Editing by Tomasz Janowski)