Charles Randell to step down as FCA and PSR chair
Charles Randell will step down as chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in spring 2022.
Randell (pictured), who became chair of both regulators in April 2018, has asked Chancellor Rishi Sunak to start the process of appointing his successor.
During Randell’s time as chair, the City regulator has established a multi-year transformation programme to become a more proactive, data-led and forward-looking regulator and it has transitioned to a new executive team.
Furthermore, during this period the FCA introduced new regulation for the peer-to-peer lending sector, supported the financial services sector through Brexit and aided consumers and businesses during the Covid crisis. It is now working to ensure that financial markets support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Over the same period, the PSR has improved protections to prevent payment scams, including introducing the ‘confirmation of payee’ protocol and this year proposed a strategy designed to make sure payment systems work well for the long-term.
Before his time as chair of the FCA and PSR, Randell spent two years as a non-executive director and chair of the audit and risk committee at the department for business, energy and industrial strategy, and five years as an external member of the Prudential Regulation Committee.
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“I want to thank Charles Randell for his work as chairman of both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator during this important period,” Sunak said.
“Both organisations undertake a vital role in ensuring that the UK financial markets work well, protecting the interests of consumers, promoting effective competition, and enhancing the integrity of the UK financial system.
“Charles has led both boards during the UK’s transition to our new position outside the EU, through the vital economic response to the Covid-19 pandemic and supporting the important transition following Nikhil Rathi’s arrival as new chief executive the FCA.”
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“As the FCA prepares to implement its new wholesale, retail and data strategies under an established new executive, now is the right time for a new chair to carry on the close and continuous oversight of our transformation,” said Randell.
“During the pandemic, the FCA stood up for consumers and businesses, while the markets we oversee proved resilient, laying the foundations for record capital raising to support the recovery.
“The PSR has been working to ensure payment systems – the lifeblood of the economy – work well for all. Being chair of the FCA and PSR has been a great privilege.”
