Former Bank of England governor’s son to head UKFI

The son of a former Bank of England governor was today confirmed as the chief executive of the organisation that manages the UK government’s stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.

James Leigh-Pemberton, currently the UK head of Credit Suisse, will join UK Financial Investments (UKFI) next month. He replaces Jim O’Neil, who is leaving to return to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which he left to join UKFI in 2010.

Leigh-Pemberton is the son of Robin Leigh-Pemberton – now Lord Kingsdown – who was Bank of England governor for a decade until 1993, and will be appointed UKFI executive chairman in January, when the role of chief executive will cease to exist and current chairman Robin Budenberg will also step down.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “I’m delighted that UKFI has been able to secure James Leigh-Pemberton’s appointment as chief executive and, in due course, executive chairman.

“His significant experience in the financial services industry, gained over two decades, makes him the right person to take us through the next phase of our plan for the recovery of Britain’s banking system.”

UKFI manages the government’s 81 per cent stake in RBS and its 39 per cent holding in Lloyds.