Donna Tanoue

Who is Donna Tanoue?

Donna Tanoue served as the 17th Chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from May 26, 1998, until July 11, 2001. Subsequently, in April 2002, she became Vice Chairman and Managing Committee member of the Bank of Hawaii.

As FDIC Chairman, Tanoue focused attention on emerging risks in the financial institution industry, and especially on the risks that arise from subprime lending. Investigating fraud at banks was prioritized for FDIC examiners, because recent changes in the business of banking and innovations in computer technology had created greater opportunity for financial irregularities. And the FDIC also refined its system of setting deposit insurance premiums in an attempt to capture more accurately the risks that institutions posed to its insurance funds.

Tanoue's FDIC took an aggressive approach to supervising federally insured financial institutions to ensure their readiness for the Year 2000 date change. Tanoue personally appeared on network television news programs to describe the banking industry’s preparedness for Year 2000, assuring the public that there would be no significant disruptions in the banking system because of Y2K.