Former General Counsel, FDIC
Mike Krimminger spent more than 20 years with the FDIC, serving as Special Advisor for Policy to Chairman Sheila Bair and later as the agency’s General Counsel. In this two-part interview, Krimminger focuses on his work at the agency in the early and mid-2000s in the years leading up to and after the 2008 Financial Crisis, at a time when many market experts and observers felt home prices could only go one direction: up. He describes the internal policy debates among federal bank and nonbank regulators about the state of the mortgage market in the mid-2000s as home values started to slide and the resistance he faced both from federal officials and from private sector players in standing up the federal government’s loan modification programs. Krimminger also discusses his role in overseeing the conservatorship of IndyMac and offers a behind the scenes look at conversations with senior federal officials, including senior Treasury officials, who, he argues, were slow to accept the magnitude of the crisis before them.
Date Recorded:
October 23, 2020
Interviewed by:
Katie Kaufman
Date Recorded:
November 13, 2020
Interviewed by:
Katie Kaufman
Michael H. Krimminger serves as Senior Counsel in the Washington D.C. Office’s of Cleary Gottlieb. He joined the firm in 2012 as partner after serving for more than two decades in numerous leadership positions with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including most recently as its general counsel. As general counsel, he served as the principal legal and policy advisor to the chairman and board of directors regarding the legislative development and later implementation of regulatory and policy components of the Dodd-Frank Act, including its SIFI resolution, living wills, capital markets and capital, and structured finance requirements. Michael played a major role in the FDIC and U.S. efforts to enhance resolution planning and cross-border cooperation among G-20 countries. He was also responsible for all legal policy, litigation, corporate issues and operations for the 730 attorney and non-attorney members of the Legal Division.
Prior to serving as general counsel, Michael served as Special Advisor for Policy to the Chairman and deputy to the chairman for policy. He played a central role in the FDIC’s response to the financial crisis and the development of Dodd-Frank Act provisions addressing capital markets, capital requirements, creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, living wills, enhanced prudential supervision, risk retention, resolution authority, and other provisions of the act.
Michael’s international experience includes serving as the co-chair of the Basel Committee’s Cross Border Resolutions Group and representing the FDIC on the Financial Stability Board’s Resolution Steering Group and other bodies. He has played a central role in bilateral and multilateral discussions with regulators around the world on legal reform, resolution planning, capital and liquidity requirements, and strategies for implementation of financial market reforms for derivatives and other financial market contracts.
