The Financial Services Authority (FSA) today announced the appointment of Jon Pain as its new managing director of Retail Markets. He will also join the FSA Board, as will be announced by HM Treasury today.
As Retail Markets managing director, Jon Pain will have overall responsibility for regulating firms or groups whose business is predominantly with retail consumers. This includes the regulation of high street banks, building societies, insurance companies, mortgage lenders, retail financial services intermediaries and approximately 17,000 smaller firms engaged in the mortgage advice, insurance broking and investment advice sectors. In addition, Jon will have responsibility for key consumer-facing functions such as the financial capability programme and the FSA Consumer Contact Centre.
Jon Pain has 30 years experience in UK financial services, most recently as managing director of Cheltenham & Gloucester. Prior to that role, Jon gained wide retail experience within the Lloyds TSB Group where, since 1973, he held a variety of positions, including managing director of General Insurance, managing director of Private Banking and Stockbroking as well as an area director for the Group’s Retail Bank. Jon was Chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders in 2006 and 2007 and was a Member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Household Committee at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) between 2001 and 2003.
Hector Sants, FSA chief executive officer, said:
“I am delighted that Jon Pain will be joining the FSA and believe he will be a valuable addition to our management team. With more than three decades experience working in retail banking, insurance and the mortgage sector, as well as his work with trade bodies, Jon will play a key role in driving the FSA’s regulatory and consumer-facing objectives for the retail markets sector.”
Jon Pain, said:
“I am very much looking forward to taking up my new role within the FSA, at a time when the importance of world class regulation is so universally recognised. I hope that my broad financial services experience and my previous roles managing consumer-facing businesses will bring added value to the FSA, the firms we regulate and the consumers we protect. I genuinely believe a vibrant, successful and well regulated retail financial services market can bring significant benefits for all stakeholders and the wider UK economy.”
David Kenmir, who has been acting as managing director, Retail Markets, since April this year, returns to his role as chief operating officer (COO), although he has indicated that he wishes to step down from the FSA to pursue other career opportunities in the New Year. As a result, a search to identify a successor to David as COO will commence shortly.
Hector Sants said:
“I want to thank David both for his strong leadership of Retail at a difficult time and for his outstanding service to the FSA and to the financial services industry over 20 years. I fully understand his desire to seek fresh challenges in the New Year and am grateful that he will lead our operations while we search for his successor.”
The FSA also announced today that Clive Adamson has been appointed as director of the FSA’s Major Retail Groups Division (MRGD). The MRGD’s remit is the close and continuous supervision of the retail high-impact groups, involvement in FSA sector work, themes and industry sector projects and Clive will maintain the supervisory relationship with overseas regulators in the key G10 countries.
Clive has been acting director of MRGD since April, having previously been a senior advisor with the FSA since 1998. Clive has over 20 years experience in wholesale and investment banking. Prior to joining the FSA, he was Senior Vice President and Regional Head at Bank of America with responsibility for business across UK and North Europe. He was also a past council member of the British Banker's Association and Chair of the American Banking and Securities Association of London.
Hector Sants, said:
“I am pleased to confirm Clive’s permanent appointment to this role which, along with that of Jon Pain, further reinforces our strategy of ensuring the FSA is staffed by people with the right mix of regulatory and market experience.”