Interim Chairs Tapped for FCA, PSR as Randell Plans Early Departure

Richard Lloyd, senior independent director of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will serve as the FCA’s interim chair, and Aidene Walsh will be the interim chair of FCA subsidiary Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), while a recruitment campaign is underway to replace Charles Randell, who is stepping down this spring.

Randell is the chairman of both entities and is departing June 1, a year before his term is up, according to government press releases from the FCA and Gov.uk on Friday (Feb. 4). Lloyd will begin his new role effective June 1, and Walsh on April 1.

Lloyd was recently reappointed for a second three-year term on the FCA board. Walsh has been a non-executive director on the PSR Board since June 2020 and is an executive director at Banking Competition Remedies.

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“It is now a pivotal time for the FCA. The next Chair will contribute significantly to the success of the U.K.’s financial services sector, and the government looks forward to appointing them in due course,” said John Glen, the economic secretary to the Treasury.

The FCA is the conduct regulator for some 51,000 financial services firms and financial markets in the U.K. The agency is overhauling its internal operations to be more aggressive in the fight against financial misconduct and the escalation of online financial scams.

Randell said that under the interim leadership of Lloyd and Walsh, the FCA and PSR boards “will continue to deliver on their strategies” as both organizations move towards becoming sharper and more forceful watchdogs.

Read more: UK’s FCA Issued $775M in Fines in 2021

Walsh said Randell’s leadership carried the PSR throughout much growth and development, and his five-year strategy empowers the organization to “ensure good outcomes for users of payment systems.” She pointed to the “strong foundations” Randell developed in the payments space, which continues to progress at breakneck speeds.