Andrew Bailey named head of BoE's new Prudential Regulatory Authority

19th Feb 2013 13:01

Andrew Bailey was on Tuesday named Chief Executive of the new Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England.Bailey, who joined the Bank of England in 1985, will begin as the boss of PRA on April 1st when it replaces the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as Britain's main banking and insurance supervisor.The new PRA will be a division of the Bank of England, ensuring banks hold enough capital and liquidity to withstand challenges unaided.The move is part of the country's efforts to address supervisory failures in the run up to the 2007-09 crisis that forced Britain to take a controlling stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and a large minority interest in Lloyds.The appointment of Bailey, which needed the Queen's approval, was widely expected in the lead up to the Treasury's announcement.Bailey will be responsible for prudential regulation as one of three deputy governors of the bank. He will also become a member of the Court of Directors, which is the governing board of the bank, and a member of the Financial Policy Committee."Andrew Bailey has the right skills and experience to lead the Prudential Regulation Authority as it moves into the new era of judgement-led supervision," Chancellor George Osborne said in a statement."Putting the Bank of England in charge of prudential regulation is at the heart of the government's reforms to regulation of financial services. 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."Bailey has worked across a number of roles since joining the bank, including as Executive Director for banking services and head of the bank's Special Resolution Unit.In 2008, he was a key player in preventing HBOS and RBS from waning. He also bring more than 20 years of experience working on bank failures, including the collapse of Barings merchant bank in 1995.He was appointed as Deputy Head of the prudential business unit at the FSA in 2011."I have worked closely with Andrew over the past 10 years, and I know he is the right person to lead the PRA in the years ahead, Governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King added.RD