UKFI close to naming chair
UK FINANCIAL Investments (UKFI) – the body which manages the government’s stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland – will have a new chairman within weeks, sources said yesterday.
The Treasury is leading the search for a candidate to chair UKFI and is believed to have placed Sir David Cooksey, a former governor of the Bank of England and adviser to Gordon Brown, at the top of its employment shortlist.
Sources close to the process said yesterday that UKFI could announce a successor to acting chairman Glen Moreno “within weeks”, suggesting that an early August appointment is likely.
Cooksey, who chairs London-listed mining firm ENRC and Eurostar part owner London & Continental Railways, is believed to head the list of candidates to replace Moreno, who it was revealed earlier this month is working for free.
The shortlist also includes Standard Life chairman Gerry Grimstone and Sir David Walker, who completed a review of corporate governance for the government earlier this month.
However, Cooksey could benefit from his relationship with Gordon Brown, having advised him on public funding of health research when Brown was chancellor of the exchequer.
He would also bring with him a wealth of experience, having served on the court of the Bank of England for more than a decade.