UK financial watchdog's Indian-origin CEO re-appointed for second term

Nikhil Rathi, the Indian-origin chief executive of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), was on Thursday re-appointed to his post for a second term by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.

Describing Rathi's leadership of the financial watchdog as crucial to the government's reform agenda, Reeves said she wanted him to go further in his efforts to boost economic growth and investment during his new five-year term.

The FCA, as a regulator for the UK's financial markets and over 40,000 financial services firms, is in charge of holding them to account.

Nikhil Rathi has been crucial in this government's efforts to reform regulation so it supports growth and boosts investment I am delighted he will be continuing his leadership of the FCA, Reeves said in a statement from the UK's Treasury department.

We want the FCA to go further and faster to deliver this government's Plan for Change and we look forward to continuing to work together to achieve this, she said.

The Treasury said Rathi will lead the FCA as it continues its efforts to make the UK the best place to do business by removing unnecessary, outdated and duplicate regulations, whilst ensuring consumers are protected from detriment and can be confident in markets.

The FCA does vital work to enable a fair and thriving financial services sector for the good of consumers and the economy, said Rathi in response to his re-appointment.

I am proud of the reforms we have delivered to support growth, bolster operational effectiveness, set higher standards and to keep our markets clean and open. While we must go further and faster in this age of volatility, the UK is well placed as a major international financial centre, he said.

The 45-year-old financial expert, who has his parental roots in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, was born and grew up in northern England. He was first appointed as FCA CEO by then prime minister Rishi Sunak in 2022 and moved over from his role as the chief of the London Stock Exchange at the time.

According to the Treasury, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Reeves had set the FCA the challenge of coming up with ideas to boost economic growth in December last year.

Since then, the financial watchdog is said to have stepped up to this challenge to come up with a series of policy changes, including making it easier for people to get on the housing ladder through changes to the rules on mortgages and extra support to help financial services firms start and grow in the UK.

FCA Chair Ashley Alder welcomed Rathi's second term as the right leader in testing times.

His exemplary first term as chief executive has ensured the FCA is an organisation transformed. We've set a new standard for consumer protection, made it easier for businesses to access capital and quicker for firms to get authorised. That provides the solid foundation to deliver our ambitious new strategy to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives, said Alder.

To allow a more coordinated and streamlined regulatory approach, the Treasury pointed to the merging of the Payment System Regulator primarily into the FCA.

Meanwhile, it said the FCA is continuing to examine the financial services regulatory landscape and working to eliminate any unnecessary rules that hold back growth.