Clinton Nominates FDIC Chief : Banking: Ricki Rhodarmer Tigert is expected to be the first woman to head a major federal bank agency.

The Clinton Administration on Wednesday nominated Ricki Rhodarmer Tigert to head the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which guarantees deposits up to $100,000.

Tigert, a former government lawyer who is now an attorney for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is expected to become the first woman to head one of the federal government’s four major banking regulatory agencies.

Her confirmation is expected to win easy approval from the Senate Finance Committee, but the vote will not take place until next year. Congress is expected to adjourn next week, “and it would be a miracle if they got the paperwork over here in time for a vote,” a committee source said.

An announcement from the White House noted that Tigert’s “15 years of private- and public-sector experience in banking and financial issues have prepared her well for the important task of safeguarding the savings of millions of American bank depositors.”

Tigert, who works in Gibson Dunn’s Washington office, formerly served as associate general counsel for international banking at the Federal Reserve Board and was senior counsel for international finance at the Treasury Department. She has also advised banks on regulatory issues and is head of the international banking and finance committee of the American Bar Assn.

Highly regarded in Washington banking and political circles, Tigert had been rumored for months to be the likely FDIC nominee, but the Administration did not make it official until Wednesday.

“She’s eminently qualified,” said Robert S. Feinberg, a Washington financial consultant.

Tigert faces the challenge of improving the information systems at the FDIC, which has been criticized for doing a poor job of keeping track of properties from failed banks, Feinberg said.

Bert Ely, another banking consultant, agreed, saying: “She has her job cut out for her. There are a lot of problem assets at failed institutions.”

The challenge will become even more complex in two years, when the FDIC takes over the work of the Resolution Trust Corp., the agency handling the dismantling of failed savings and loans. The RTC’s hard-to-sell assets will become part of the FDIC caseload.