As a post-WWII midwestern grandson of a Syrian immigrant, born and raised in Bryan, Ohio, I had already exceeded my family’s wildest expectations and aspirations when I received my undergraduate degree from Miami University and law degree from The Ohio State University. As fate and hard work would have it, the legal, banking, and financial worlds, via Milwaukee, WI, and Louisville, KY, lured me to Washington, D.C., in 1978, as then-President Jimmy Carter’s appointee to the three-person FDIC board. Named Chairman by President Reagan two years later, and at the wizened age of 36, I found myself at the helm of an erstwhile dozy agency as the unprecedented banking and thrift crises of the 1980’s exploded. Working closely with Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, I did my utmost to maintain stability in the financial and banking sectors amid more than 3,000 bank and thrift failures. To this day, I am at a loss for words to express the immense honor and privilege this time holds for me.
Many decades and years of continued service later, find me in happy partnership with another grandson of American immigrants, Howard Milstein, serving on the boards of New York Private Bank & Trust and Emigrant Bank, as well as serving as Chairman of Sarasota Private Trust and Cleveland Private Trust – and again at a loss for words. My career path’s destination was never obvious to me. But I always knew the path was sturdy and sure, thanks to the footsteps of service, character, integrity, and family that built it.
I find myself now stepping aside for other footsteps to follow. With bittersweet feelings, and with great gratitude, I share my decision to wind down my duties with Emigrant Bank, New York Private Trust, and all other Milstein interests. It delights me to find the same cornerstones of integrity, ethics, and family in my career’s ending chapters as I held dear during the early ones. I extend my greatest thanks and regard to Howard Milstein, Michael Milstein, Barry Friedberg, John Hart, and many others with whom I’ve had the great pleasure of working since joining the Milstein organization.
Bill Isaac has had an unparalleled career in the financial industry and public service, spanning 50 years. He is the Chairman of Secura/Isaac Group, a global advisory firm serving financial institutions, non-banks, FinTech firms, central banks, and domestic and international regulatory agencies. Bill headed the FDIC from 1978 through 1985, during the banking and thrift crises of the 1980s, when over 3,000 banks and thrifts failed. He worked closely with the late Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to maintain stability in the financial system.
Bill was appointed to the board of the FDIC by President Carter and named Chairman by President Reagan, and was the youngest FDIC board member and chairman in history. Bill also served as chairman of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, as a member of the Depository Institutions Deregulation Committee, and as a member of the Vice President’s Task Group on Regulation of Financial Services.
Bill has decades of experience in regulatory counseling and risk management services. He founded The Secura Group, a leading consulting firm, in 1986. Secura was acquired by FTI Consulting in 2011, where he served as senior managing director.
Bill then partnered with Howard Milstein in the financial services business, serving on the boards of New York Private Bank & Trust and Emigrant Bank, as well as serving as Chairman of Sarasota Private Trust and Cleveland Private Trust.
Bill is the former Chairman of Fifth Third Bancorp. He has served on the boards of TSYS (now merged with GPN), Amex Bank, The Associates, TransUnion, and MPS Group.
Bill is the author of Senseless Panic: How Washington Failed America, with a foreword by Paul Volcker. His articles are published in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Financial Times, American Banker, The Hill, and other leading publications. He also appears regularly on television and radio, testifies before Congress, and is a speaker throughout the world.
Bill was formerly a senior partner at Arnold & Porter and the founding partner of The Secura Group. Before his appointment to the FDIC, Bill served as vice president, general counsel, and secretary of First Kentucky National Corporation and its subsidiaries, including First National Bank of Louisville and First Kentucky Trust Company.
Bill began his career with Foley & Lardner, where he practiced general corporate law, specializing in banking law.
Bill received a Distinguished Achievement Medal in 1995 from Miami University and a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013 from The Ohio State University. He is a Life member of the Boards of Directors of the Miami University Foundation and The Ohio State University Foundation.
In 2016, Bill co-founded the William Isaac & Michael Oxley Center for Business Leadership at Miami University.