Nikhil Rathi reappointed FCA chief
Nikhil Rathi will be chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for another five years, leading it on its new directive from the government to slash unnecessary and duplicated regulation, the Chancellor has confirmed.
Rathi—a former Treasury mandarin and chief executive of the London Stock Exchange—will serve another five-year term as the boss of the FCA, the UK’s largest financial watchdog. If he sees the term out, his stint at the top of the FCA will extend to a decade.
The Chancellor opted for continuity, saying Rathi had been “crucial” to the government’s efforts to reform regulation as it imposes a radical shake-up of the UK’s regulation landscape in an attempt to remove what it sees as unnecessary barriers to economic growth.
In a letter sent to the UK’s ten largest watchdogs on Christmas Eve, Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer demanded top brass “tear down the regulatory barriers” that the said were holding the economy.
The push to put the UK’s regulators on a ‘growth footing’ has prompted the resignation or ousting of several regulation chiefs, including the chairs of the Competition and Markets Authority and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It has also sparked a dramatic reorganisation of the financial regulation landscape, which last month saw the Payments Systems Regulator merged with the FCA in an attempt to reduce duplication of regulatory hurdles on firms.
Rathi will be responsible for overseeing the smooth transition of of the merger. Responding to the news of his reappointment, he said: “I am honoured to be reappointed by the Chancellor. The FCA does vital work to enable a fair and thriving financial services sector for the good of consumers and the economy.”
Last month, the FCA and Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority both ditched plans to police firms’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) performance. And in a nod to those and other efforts efforts to bear down on the red tape it imposes on the UK’s financial sector, Rathi added: “I am proud of the reforms we have delivered to support growth, bolster operational effectiveness, set higher standards and to keep our markets clean and open.”
Reeves said: “Nikhil Rathi has been crucial in this government’s efforts to reform regulation so it supports growth and boosts investment – I am delighted he will be continuing his leadership of the FCA.
“We want the FCA to go further and faster to deliver this government’s Plan for Change and we look forward to continuing to work together to achieve this.”