FCA appoints Charles Randell as new chair
Former lawyer and Bank of England adviser Charles Randell has been appointed as the new chair of the Financial Conduct Authority for a five-year term.
Randell, who is currently an external member of the Prudential Regulation Committee of the BoE and a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will take up the role on 1 April.
FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey said: "I am very pleased to welcome Charles to the FCA. His experience of regulation, both during the financial crisis and more recently as a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, means that he has a strong understanding of the challenges that the FCA faces and I look forward to tackling these with him in his new role."
Randell worked at law firm Slaughter and May from 1980 to 2013, becoming a partner in 1989. He specialised in corporate finance law, and worked on financial stability and bank restructuring assignments.
He advised HM Treasury on the resolutions of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and the Icelandic banks and the government's investments into RBS and the merged Lloyds/HBOS. In addition, he advised the Portuguese Ministry of Finance on the recapitalisation of the banking sector.
BoE governor Mark Carney said: "Charles has been a highly valued member of the PRC since its establishment (originally as the PRA Board in 2013). Drawing on his deep expertise in corporate finance and sound judgement, Charles has helped guide the PRA’s most important policy and supervisory decisions. His governance expertise has also made an important contribution to the PRA’s development. Although he will be sorely missed, I am very pleased that he is willing to serve as the chair of the FCA Board at this important juncture for that organisation and UK financial services, more generally.”