Conditions of Employment and Security Process

Because of the FDIC’s public trust role, all candidates – for FDIC employment or to serve under an FDIC contract – must meet the agency’s high standards of integrity and fitness. The FDIC follows a rigorous process for investigating new employees and contractor vendors, and has set certain conditions for employment. These are outlined below.

As part of the FDIC’s hiring process, candidates are required to submit personally identifiable information (PII). Please note that all systems within the FDIC’s Personnel Security process are designed to store and transmit every portion of your data securely.

• Applicants must not have any legal barriers to employment.
  Federal law prohibits the FDIC from employing any person who has:
  • Been convicted of any felony;
  • Been removed from, or prohibited from participating in the affairs of, any insured depository institution because of final enforcement action by any appropriate federal banking agency;
  • Demonstrated a pattern or practice of misappropriation of funds regarding obligations to insured depository institutions; or
  • Caused a substantial loss, in an amount in excess of $50,000, to federal deposit insurance funds.
  As part of the FDIC’s Personnel Security process, you will be asked to submit digital fingerprints which will be used to conduct a search of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records.
• Applicants must have no ethical conflicts.
  All FDIC employees are subject to the agency’s Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees, which outline in detail the rules that govern employee behavior in a wide range of circumstances – with respect to buying and holding bank stock, loans from FDIC-supervised institutions, and more.  (For example, FDIC employees, their spouses, and minor children cannot acquire, own, or control a security of an FDIC-insured depository institution or an affiliate of an FDIC-insured depository institution, either directly or indirectly.)
  Applicants will be required to provide information that will be used to determine whether any ethical conflicts exist that must be resolved prior to employment.
• Applicants must meet all suitability requirements for employment.
  The FDIC is prohibited from employing any person who does not meet its minimum competence, experience, integrity, and fitness requirements. Candidates who are tentatively identified for appointment must meet suitability requirements for federal employment prior to appointment. The FDIC will ask you to provide additional information, including a credit statement release, prior to making a formal offer of employment, as required by law (12 CFR Part 336).
• Applicants must complete a background investigation.
  Applicants will be asked to access the Enterprise Workforce Solution (eWORKS), where you will complete and release a set of online forms for your background investigation. These forms will give the FDIC permission to obtain one or more consumer reports pertaining to you, view your tax records, determine whether your prior employment and financial history present any ethical conflicts with the FDIC's mission, and more.
  The following guides provide instructions for completing and submitting information in eWORKS:
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  Employee Candidate Response Guide  - (PDF 620k) for employee candidates only
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  Contractor Candidate Response Guide  - (PDF 519k) for contractor vendor candidates only
• Applicants must be able to obtain a security clearance.
  Applicants will be asked to complete the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP). The information gathered through e-QIP will be used by the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) to conduct an investigation that will determine if you are eligible to obtain the appropriate security clearance. If additional information is required, the FDIC’s Security and Emergency Preparedness Section will contact you to get clarification.

Once you have completed each of these steps successfully, the FDIC will make a preliminary decision on your application, and notify either the relevant FDIC Administrative Officer or the contractor vendor. When the FDIC receives preliminary approval from SEPS, you may be employed by the FDIC or put under contract.

In the meantime, the investigative request will be pending at the NBIB. When the investigation is complete, the NBIB may contact you again if any clarifications are required.

Once all information is compiled, a formal adjudication is rendered and recorded in OPM’s Central Verification System.