Money | Sheila Bair Sheila Bair to Leave FDIC in July Chair weathered financial crisis, oversaw closure of 350-plus banks By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted May 9, 2011 6:10 PM CDT Copied FDIC Chair Sheila Bair testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, before the Senate Banking Committee. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Sheila Bair is stepping down as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. this summer, ending a five-year term in which she helped craft the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. The FDIC says Bair will leave her post as one of the government's top bank regulators on July 8. Bair was among the first officials to raise concerns about the explosion in high-risk lending to borrowers with bad credit. Under her tenure, the agency closed more than 350 banks since the crisis peaked in late 2008. The FDIC guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000. The FDIC says Bair will chair a final board meeting during the first week of July. Read These Next The Atlantic has a lengthy profile of RFK Jr. One mystery is solved around chilling Holocaust photo. White House site now lists accusations against news outlets. Black Friday at this California mall ended in gunfire, an evacuation. Report an error