William Isaac, the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair who steered the agency through financial turbulence of the 1980s, died Friday at age 82 from complications related to Lewy body dementia.
Isaac’s death came just months after he retired from Sarasota Private Trust.
Isaac was appointed to the FDIC board in 1978 and later named chairman by President Ronald Reagan, becoming the youngest person to lead the agency at the time. He served as its 14th chairman from 1981 to 1985, presiding over the banking and S&L crises that saw roughly 3,000 banks and thrifts fail. Over this period, he was widely credited with helping preserve stability in the financial system.
After leaving the FDIC, he founded The Secura Group in 1986, a bank consulting firm that sold to FTI Consulting in 2011, where he served as a senior managing director.
Isaac also served as chairman of Fifth Third Bancorp and launched Sarasota Private Trust. The trust business was part of a longstanding relationship with the Milstein family, owners of New York Private Bank & Trust and Emigrant Bank. Isaac served on the boards of those banks as well.
His influence on bank regulation and supervision extended well beyond his government tenure, continuing through his consulting work and public commentary on bank supervision, resolution practices, and deposit insurance policy