City watchdog names Marlene Shiels as chair of SME panel
THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Marlene Shiels as chair of its smaller business practitioner panel.
The panel is an independent statutory body that represents the interests of practitioners of small- and medium-sized firms across FCA-regulated activities.
Read more: FCA releases ‘stocktake report’ on SMCR ahead of December extension
Members recruited to the panel represent both their own sectors as well as the industry as a whole, rather than just individual firms.
Shiels (pictured), who is chief executive of Capital Credit Union, will take up the role from 1 October. She has previously been a board member of the World Council of Credit Unions between 2009 and 2013, a director of debt charity Step Change, and a member of the council of the Chartered Banker Institute.
Shiels has also been a board member and vice president of the Association of British Credit Unions between 2008 and 2010 and is a founder of the Development Education Europe Programme and still holds a position on the advisory board.
Shiels has been a member of the panel since 2015 and succeeds Craig Errington, group chief executive of Wesleyan, who was appointed in April 2017.
Read more: FCA appoints new chair for SME panel
“The smaller business practitioner panel plays a vital role in ensuring that the voice of smaller firms in the industry are heard in the UK’s regulatory system,” Charles Randell, chair of the Financial Conduct Authority said. “I am sure that Marlene will continue the excellent work of her predecessors and I look forward to working with her in her new role.”
“The smaller business practitioner panel plays a very important role in the regulatory environment,” Shiels said. “It represents a significant number of businesses across the country and ensures that their interests are at the forefront of change.”
Read more: Most P2P investors back new FCA rules, finds Growth Street