The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Sarah Pritchard to the newly created role of deputy CEO.
Pritchard (pictured) has already taken up the role and there will be no immediate change to her areas of responsibility.
The FCA said the new role has been created to reflect its expanding remit, with the integration of the Payment Systems Regulator, regulation of stablecoin and crypto firms as well as Buy Now Pay Later activities.
As deputy CEO Pritchard will also support the FCA’s increasingly international focus, given its role supporting UK growth and competitiveness.
Pritchard joined the FCA in June 2021 and has worked as the executive director of supervision, policy and competition and as executive director international.
Most recently she has been responsible for consumers and competition, having previously led the FCA’s markets function.
Pritchard also has executive responsibility for the FCA’s international work and personally spearheaded recent G20/Financial Stability Board work on leverage in non-bank financial institutions.
Prior to joining the FCA, she was the director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), a multi-agency partnership housed in the National Crime Agency (NCA), created in late 2018 to deliver UK system leadership on economic crime.
Before that, she was general counsel/legal director for the NCA as well as leading the NCA’s transformational people programme.
Within the private sector, she led global financial crime compliance and reputational risk teams at HSBC and qualified as a commercial litigator with Dechert LLP.
Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the FCA, said: “Since joining us, Sarah helped bring together our supervision, policy and competition functions and has led some of our most high-profile work, for example, the once-in-a-generation overhaul of the listing rules and landmark work on financial advice and guidance.
“Delivering our ambitious new strategy – to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives – is a collective endeavour and relies on continued reform. Sarah’s breadth of experience, in both public and private sectors, makes her ideally placed to help me drive this.’
Ashley Alder, chairman of the FCA, said: “The international environment is complex, our remit is growing and expectations of us continue to evolve.
“The board fully supports Sarah taking on the role of deputy chief executive to help Nikhil lead the FCA day-to-day and cultivate our key relationships.
“Sarah has proven her ability to drive reform and deliver bold proposals at pace.”
Pritchard said via her LinkedIn that she was: “Delighted to become the Financial Conduct Authority’s first deputy chief executive.
“Over the last four years I’m proud to have helped establish a combined Supervision, Policy and Competition division as well as leading our capital markets reform, pensions work and our landmark work to help more consumers get the right help when making financial decisions. And leading the FCA’s international work.
“This new role is a great opportunity for me to build on my experience throughout my career in public and private sectors- at the NCA, the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), HSBC and Dechert.
“Lots to do to support growth, fight crime, help consumers and become a smarter regulator. Can’t wait to get going.”
Pritchard also said: “The last four years has been marked by significant reform.
“I am looking forward to working even more closely with Nikhil, so there is no let up in the pace of change, and to ensure we have the right relationships, domestically and internationally, to deliver our ambitious strategy.”
