Financial Conduct Authority confirms veteran lawyer as new chairman

The Treasury has appointed veteran lawyer Charles Randell as head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), making him the UK watchdog’s second chairman since its formation in 2013.

Randell will also lead the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) and will step into both roles on 1 April. It ends John Griffith-jones’s tenure, which stretches back to the financial supervisor’s founding in April 2013.

Randell joins the FCA after a long stint as a lawyer at Slaughter and May from 1980 to 2013, having specialised in corporate finance law and taken on a string of bank restructuring assignments that saw him advise the Treasury on the resolution of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and Icelandic banks.

He also worked on the government’s bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds/ HBOS, as well as the Asset Protection Scheme.

FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey said: “His experience of regulation, both during the financial crisis and more recently as a member of the prudential regulation committee, mean 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 currently serves as an external member of the Bank of England’s prudential regulation committee, but will formally step down before taking up the FCA and PSR positions. Randell said: “I’m very honoured to have the opportunity to chair the FCA and the PSR. They do vital work in delivering a stable and trusted system of financial regulation which protects consumers while supporting innovation, competition and growth.

“I look forward to working with colleagues at both organisations as they continue their mission.”