The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Richard Lloyd as interim chairman.
Lloyd is the FCA’s senior independent director and will take up the post on 1 June ahead of the appointment of a permanent successor. The move follows his reappointment for a second three-year term on the FCA board which will commence on 1 April.
The move came as HM Treasury published the job advert for the appointment of the next FCA chairperson to replace Charles Randell (pictured) who announced his decision to step down from his chairmanship of the FCA and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in October.
Lloyd’s previous roles include executive director at Which? and chief executive of Consumers International. He is also a founding trustee of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to the economy and consumer rights.
The FCA also announced the appointment of Aidene Walsh as interim chairwoman of the PSR from 1 April until the next permanent PSR chairperson takes up their post.
Walsh has been a non-executive director on the PSR board since June 2020 and is an executive director at Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR). She was also previously chief executive officer of The Fairbanking Foundation, and has held senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, ABN Amro and Citigroup.
Commenting on the appointments, Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen, said: “I would like thank Charles Randell for his leadership of the FCA and PSR during an important and challenging period.
“I am grateful to Richard Lloyd and Aidene Walsh for agreeing to serve as interim chairs of the FCA and PSR respectively. These interim arrangements will ensure a smooth transition following Charles’ departure, and will provide strong leadership while the process of appointing permanent successors is completed.
“It is now a pivotal time for the FCA. The next chairperson will contribute significantly to the success of the UK’s financial services sector and the government looks forward to appointing them in due course.”
The advisory assessment panel for the FCA chairperson appointment will comprise Charles Roxburgh (HMT second permanent secretary, panel chair), Gwyneth Nurse (HMT director general, Financial Services), Alison Brittain (CEO, Whitbread, senior independent panel member), Ron Kalifa (chairman, Network International, independent panel member) and Richard Lloyd (FCA senior independent director).
The Treasury added a separate recruitment campaign for the appointment of the next PSR chairperson will be launched in due course.