FDIC Chairman Ricki Helfer announced today the appointment of
veteran banking journalist Robert M. Garsson, Jr. as Director of
the agency's Office of Corporate Communications (OCC). Mr. Garsson
currently is the Washington-based senior editor for the daily
financial newspaper American Banker. He begins work at the FDIC on
February 20.
"Bob Garsson is widely respected in the financial community,
in government circles and in the news media," Chairman Helfer said.
"He combines integrity, credibility, enthusiasm and communications
skills with an insider's knowledge of banking and public policy.
We are extremely fortunate that Bob has agreed to serve as the
FDIC's communications director."
Mr. Garsson replaces Alan J. Whitney, who retired in January
after more than 16 years as the FDIC's communications director.
As OCC Director, Mr. Garsson will lead the agency's efforts to
provide information about the FDIC to the media, bankers and the
public. The office's duties include: issuing press releases and
responding to media inquiries; editing and distributing information
about the FDIC and its functions, operations and actions; and
producing educational newsletters and other publications.
Mr. Garsson has been in the newspaper business for nearly 20
years. He started in 1976 as a reporter with the Asbury Park Press
in Asbury Park, New Jersey, first covering state and local
government. He later became a business writer for the newspaper.
Mr. Garsson joined American Banker in 1982 to report on financial
issues from its main office in New York. In 1987, Mr. Garsson
became a congressional correspondent in the newspaper's Washington
bureau. He was promoted to bureau chief in 1994 and senior editor
in 1995. He also wrote a weekly column analyzing banking
legislation and regulation.
The 44-year old Mr. Garsson has a B.A. degree in history from
the University of Virginia and an M.A. in political science from
Rutgers University. He is an Army veteran who served in Vietnam
with the 101st Airborne Division and was awarded the Bronze Star.
Mr. Garsson lives in Chantilly, Virginia, with his wife Christine
and their children Katie and Bobby.
Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933
to maintain public confidence in the nation's banking system. The
FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 12,000 banks and savings
associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these
institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to
which they are exposed.
