Sheila Bair discusses her career as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011, during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Bair focuses on the regulatory conditions that preceded the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and her involvement in FDIC and Obama administration efforts to stabilize American banks and mitigate the effects of the crisis on borrowers. Bair provides details about the FDIC's management of its auction facility for failed banks, and to the debates that led to the Home Affordable Modification Program and Home Affordable Refinance Program. Bair reflects on the character of financial regulation in the United States since the 1980s, including comments on the relationship between the financial industry, federal regulators, and public opinion. Bair also outlines the relationship between the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, and the Department of the Treasury during the period of her service as chair, and comments on the design and impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Presidents--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Subprime mortgage loans--United States; Monetary policy--United States; Bair, Sheila; Obama, Barack; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Home Affordable Modification Program (U.S.); Home Affordable Refinance Program (U.S.); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.); United States; United States Department of the Treasury; Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
76 pages
Note (Biographical)
Sheila Bair served as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from June 2006 to July 2011. During her tenure as chair, she assumed a prominent role in the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. She was appointed to the post for a five-year term in 2006 by George W. Bush. She was also the 28th president of Washington College in Chestertown, MD, the first female head of the college in its 234-year history, a position she held from 2015 until her resignation in 2017. Ms. Bair served in numerous academic, financial, and government positions throughout her career
Note
Interviewed by Dov Weinryb Grohsgal on September 24, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Sheila Bair, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022