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FDIC Chair Speaks at SBT Event

Donald Powell, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, spoke to 50 or so Webster University administrators, faculty, staff and students Sept. 4 at the Saint Louis Club in Clayton. Powell’s appearance kicked off this year’s School of Business & Technology Speaker Series, which features prominent local, regional and national business people. The event was co-sponsored by the University’s School of Business & Technology and Stifel Financial Corporation.

powell
Powell was named the 18th chairman of the FDIC by President Bush on Aug. 29, 2001. Before his appointment, he was president and CEO of The First National Bank of Amarillo in Texas. A life-long Texan, Powell has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. “Those were not very good days for Texas bankers,” he told the attendees. Powell added, however, that although over 3,000 financial institutions were closed during that time period, not one insured depositor failed to be paid. “That’s America,” he said.

In light of recent national and world events, Powell said he had identified a few things he needed to change in his own life. First, that he would no longer give money to people he wouldn’t vote for. "That is so hypocritical," Powell said. "I do it under the disguise that it's good for business, but I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm not going to write one check to any individual that I do not believe I would vote for." Powell said he had also elevated his personal conduct standard from “Is it legal?” to “Is it legal and is it ethical?” Finally, Powell said he that he would no longer bypass an opportunity to speak out against something he knows to be wrong. "I'm guilty of that," Powell said, "and I'm not going to be guilty of it anymore."

The FDIC is the primary supervisor for state-chartered and non-member banks. As such, it works closely with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

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