Andrew Bailey Announced As First Of Three Deputy Governors At The Bank Of England

Carney's Number Two Announced At The Bank of England

The Bank of England has chosen Andrew Bailey to be Mark Carney's deputy governor when he steps into the role later this year.

Bailey will also hold the position of chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, half of the financial regulation watchdog, which will be created when the Financial Services Authority (FSA) splits into two in April this year.

The other half of the regulator is the Financial Conduct Authority, which will focus on thematic work, and less on firm-specific issues, led by Martin Wheatley, who is currently a managing director of the FSA.

The PRA is intended to be the first line of defence in preventing the UK's largest banks from ever returning to the point where a box-ticking attitude towards regulation led to the letter, but not the spirit of the law being followed.

In his dual position, Bailey will take on responsibility for oversight of banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms.

Bailey, who joined the Bank of England in 1985, will become one of three deputy governors. He had originally been believed to be in the running for the top job, prior to Mark Carney's appointment.

He has worked in a number of areas at the Bank, most recently as executive director for banking services and chief cashier, as well as head of the bank's special resolution unit, which helped steer HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland through their mammoth bailouts at the height of the financial crisis.

In April 2011, he was appointed as deputy head of the prudential business unit and director of UK banks and building societies at the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

A year later, he became managing director of the FSA's prudential business unit, with responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks, investment banks and insurance companies.

Outgoing Bank governor Sir Mervyn King said he knew Bailey was "the right person to lead the PRA", while Chancellor George Osborne said he would lead the PRA as it moves into the new era of judgment-led supervision.

"Putting the Bank of England in charge of prudential regulation is at the heart of the government's reforms to regulation of financial services," said Osborne.

"It will be a tough, forward-looking regulator, focused on the stability of banks, other deposit takers and insurers - and with a mandate to protect policyholders."

As if that wasn't quite enough hats for Bailey to be wearing, he will also become a member of the bank's governing body - the Court of Directors - and a member of the Financial Policy Committee.

Sally Scutt, deputy chief executive of the British Bankers Association, said the confirmation of Bailey's many titles was welcome, as "it is important that the PRA closely coordinates its activities with the Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Policy Committee".

And Alistair Winter, chief economist at Daniel Stewart, told the Huffington Post UK that while Bailey's appointment may have been expected, it was an important one for the City's future.

"He is something of a rarity: a career Bank of England man well-known and highly-respected in the wider financial services sector. He has been involved in all the bank rescues since Northern Rock in 2007 and has been a scourge of incompetence and greed," he said.

"He is the architect of the new proactive regulatory regime and any bank executive daydreaming of new products to miss-sell had better wake up!"

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