US bank regulator taps ex-prosecutor to oversee 'cultural transformation'

(Reuters) - A former federal prosecutor with experience overseeing efforts to address systemic sexual harassment and discrimination will monitor progress toward the "cultural transformation" of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the bank regulator announced Wednesday.

The appointment of Carrie Cohen, currently of the corporate law firm Morrison Foerster, is the FDIC's latest step in addressing a sexual harassment scandal that forced the resignation of its chair, Martin Gruenberg, earlier this year.

The U.S. Senate has yet to vote on President Joe Biden's nominee to succeed Gruenberg, Christy Goldsmith Romero, who now serves on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Cohen will audit the FDIC's work toward implementing an action plan announced last year in the wake of a Wall Street Journal expose which found widespread misogyny and a toxic, sexualized atmosphere among agency staff, the FDIC said.

Cohen is co-chair of Morrison Foerster's task force on diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and also co-chairs the firm's investigations and white-collar defense practice. She previously served as a federal prosecutor in New York and at the New York Attorney General's Office, according to the FDIC.

Cohen served as special counsel to the New York City Council, developing a monitorship to address workplace cultural issues, and has overseen monitorships involving sexual harassment, the agency said.

She was selected following an open bidding process and interviews conducted by the FDIC board.

(Reporting by Douglas Gillison; editing by Jonathan Oatis)