FCA boosts authorisations team and unveils Leeds office
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has bolstered its authorisations team and expanded its UK presence outside of London.
The City watchdog revealed that it has appointed 95 colleagues to new positions in authorisations, boosting the number of people considering regulatory applications from firms such as peer-to-peer lenders.
The regulator has also appointed its former chief people officer William Hague to lead a new Leeds office as part of its transformation programme.
The FCA’s general counsel, Stephen Braviner Roman, who set up the Government Legal Department’s regional office in Leeds, will work with William to establish the office.
A statement from the FCA also said the regulator wants to double its headcount in Edinburgh to around 200 and increase recruitment in data and technology.
Read more: FCA reveals scale of crackdown on financial promotions in 2021
‘I’m delighted that an experienced leader like William will head up our office in Leeds, as we broaden our talent base and national footprint,” Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said.
“This is an important step in our transformation which will ensure we are a regulator that better represents the people we serve.”
It comes as the FCA told MPs last week that it has hired consultants to help fight the backlog in authorisations amid criticism about delays.
Rathi has previously said the regulator is working hard to address this by hiring more staff and digitising the approval process.