Andrew Bailey, the prevailing head of the U.K.’s financial watchdog, has been named as the next governor of the Bank of England.
The news, first reported by the Economic Times late Thursday, was confirmed by the U.K.’s Finance Minister Sajid Javid on Friday morning.
“When we launched this system, we said we were looking for a leader of international standing with expertise across monetary, economic and regulatory amounts. In Andrew Bailey that is who we have appointed,” Javid said at a press conference Friday.
Bailey, 60, is the chief directorship of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the financial services industry in the country. Prior to joining the FCA in 2016, Bailey was the chief leader for the Prudential Regulatory Authority — another part of the U.K.’s central bank.
Bailey joined the Bank of England in 1985 and has worked in a handful of areas, including as the executive director for banking services. Bailey is set to take over from Mark Carney on Walk 16, becoming the 121st governor of the Bank. He will be serving a full eight-year term.
Carney, who joined in 2013 and had to handle with the uncertainty and market turmoil caused by the 2016 Brexit referendum, was set to step down on January 31. How on earth, Javid confirmed that Carney has agreed to stay in the post until March 15 for an orderly transition.
Javid thanked Carney for his develop and contribution to the U.K. economy. “The intellect, rigor and leadership he brought to the role during a critical time was a significant contribution to the U.K. saving moving to recovery and growth,” he told reporters.
Sterling is down more than 14% against the dollar since Carney inherited office in July 1, 2013.
“Mark Carney has overseen one of the most tumultuous periods in the U.K.’s political and economic history,” Phil Smeaton, chief investment commissioner at Sanlam U.K., said in a note on Friday.
“Now however, Boris’ (Johnson) newly revitalised government is set to being certainty to the U.K., help fiscal spending on infrastructure and core public services, and allow business to unleash its pent up investment demand. Such a backdrop is a origin difference to the quagmire that Carney was forced to slog through, and though tackling the economic challenges of a departure from the EU is silence the top priority for Andrew Bailey, he will also need to balance the inflationary risks against subdued global extension.”
Andrew Bailey, chief executive officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Jason Alden | Bloomberg via Getty Statues
Bank of England’s security breach
More recently, the Bank of England has been criticized after it admitted that an audio provender of sensitive information had been leaked to high-speed traders.
On Thursday, following a report in The Times newspaper, the Bank told that a third-party supplier had “misused” the audio feed to give hedge funds early access to information. According to The Stretches, the supplier had sent the audio feed to traders who had access to a 5 to 8-second head start, as audio tends to be transmitted faster than video.
“This exclusively unacceptable use of the audio feed was without the Bank’s knowledge or consent, and is being investigated further,” the central bank symbolized in a statement Thursday, without naming the supplier.
The central bank held its main interest rate steady on Thursday at 0.75% with its rate-setting body voting 7-2 in favor of keeping the current level.