Martin Gruenberg will step down as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after findings of a toxic work environment put the regulator at the center of a heated political fight and fueled calls for his removal.

Gruenberg, 71, faced mounting pressure following a scathing report that detailed allegations of harassment and discrimination at the bank regulator during his tenure.

Those findings earlier this month by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton were based on accounts from more than 500 people and a months-long probe into a Wall Street Journal article about female bank examiners facing a "sexualized, boys’ club environment.”