Andrew Bailey steps up at the Bank to head new prudential financial regulator

By ERIKKA ASKELAND
Published on 20/02/2013 00:00

A VETERAN Bank of England official has been named as its deputy governor and head of the new prudential regulation authority (PRA) starting 1 April.

Andrew Bailey, who is currently head of prudential supervision at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), will be one of three deputy governors under Mark Carney, the new governor, who joins the bank in June.

Chancellor George Osborne welcomed Bailey’s appointment in a statement, saying: “Andrew Bailey has the right skills and experience to lead the prudential regulation authority as it moves into the new era of judgment-led supervision.”

Bailey was considered to be a top contender for the new job after his boss Hector Sants, the former chief executive of the FSA, resigned to become head of compliance at Barclays.

The FSA will be scrapped at the end of March when the PRA becomes Britain’s main banking and insurance supervisor. The outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, said. “I have worked closely with Andrew over the past ten years, and I know he is the right person to lead the PRA in the years ahead.”

The Cambridge graduate with a PhD in economics joined the Bank of England in 1985, and then joined the FSA in 2011. During his stint as chief cashier from 2004 to 2011, his signature appeared on English bank notes.

Bailey’s immediate challenge is to decide how much extra capital and restructuring RBS and Lloyds will need so they can be fully returned to the private sector. Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday he wanted changes at RBS to be accelerated.