Randell charles

HM Treasury has announced that Charles Randell CBE has been appointed as the new chairman of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Randell, a former corporate lawyer, is currently an external member of the Prudential Regulation Committee of the Bank of England and a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

He will take up the role in April for a five-year term and lead the FCA through the challenges presented by the UK's departure from the European Union.

John Griffith-Jones, current chairman of the FCA, said: “I am delighted that Charles Randell has been appointed as my successor and I wish him every success in the role.”

Andrew Bailey, FCA chief executive, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Charles to the FCA. His experience of regulation, both during the financial crisis and more recently as a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, mean that he has a strong understanding of the challenges that the FCA faces and I look forward to tackling these with him in his new role.”

Randell worked at Slaughter and May from 1980 to 2013, becoming a partner in 1989. He specialised in corporate finance law, and worked on financial stability and bank restructuring assignments.

He also advised HM Treasury during some of the toughest periods of the financial crisis, including the resolutions of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and the Icelandic banks; the Government's investments into RBS and the merged Lloyds/HBOS; and the Asset Protection Scheme.

Randell also advised the Portuguese Ministry of Finance on the recapitalisation of the Portuguese banking sector.