Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Martin J. Gruenberg, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s acting chairman, said his agency stands “highly alert” to challenges in the face of persistent uncertainty over high unemployment and the state of the economy.

“Uncertainty has been heightened, by the difficult conditions we have all been reading about in Europe,” Gruenberg said today in a speech at an American Bankers Association conference in San Antonio. “The FDIC remains highly alert to these challenges.”

Gruenberg, who served as deputy chairman to Sheila Bair during the subprime mortgage crisis, has been nominiated by President Barack Obama to serve a full term as FDIC chairman. The nomination is awaiting confirmation by the full U.S. Senate.

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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net