Ex-Which magazine director joins Financial Conduct Authority board

The former executive director of Which magazine, Richard Lloyd, will become a non-executive director of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 1 April, it was announced today.

His term at the FCA, which is the independent conduct regulator for 58,000 financial services firms and financial markets in the UK, will last three years.

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Lloyd was at consumer magazine Which for five years, and stepped down as executive director in 2016. He is also a founding trustee of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and currently chairs Resolver, a consumer complaint resolution website.

Although it is officially an independent body, appointments to the FCA board are overseen by the government.

The Cabinet Office advertised the role in September 2018, offering a salary of £35,000 per annum and an additional £10,000 a year if the individual chairs a board committee. However, an FCA spokesperson said that Lloyd would not be chairing a committee.

John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, announced the appointment this morning.

“Richard Lloyd’s wealth of experience as a consumer expert will be a valuable contribution to the crucial work of the FCA,” he said.

FCA chair Charles Randell added that Lloyd “is ideally placed to further reinforce the FCA board’s consideration of consumer needs”.

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Glen also announced that crossbench peer Baroness Sarah Hogg has been re-appointed as a non-executive director for a second three-year term, and that Amelia Fletcher, who is professor of competition policy at Norwich Business School, has had her second term as a non-executive director extended for a further year.

He said: “Sarah and Amelia have brought considerable expertise to the FCA board, and I am grateful for their continued contributions.”