The UK government on Friday appointed a former regulator and incumbent Barclays. BARC.L executive, Catherine Braddick, as the Bank of England’s next deputy governor for prudential regulation to try to boost slow economic growth.
Last year, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves criticized regulators for being a “boot on the neck of business”, raising concerns over the Bank of England, whose governor, Andrew Bailey, has said the dangerous lessons of the 2008 global financial crisis are being forgotten.
Braddick worked as a bank regulator at the UK’s Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England before joining the Treasury and then moving to Barclays in 2022, where she is group head of strategic policy.
Experienced, pro-business leader, says Reeves.
“Catherine Braddick is an accomplished business leader with a track record of keeping our financial system safe while supporting investment and lending,” Reeves said in a statement.
He added that Braddick “understands the City and regulation, and will help ensure the UK remains one of the best places in the world to do business.”
Braddick will take over from Sam Woods on July 1, and serve a five-year term.
His appointment was welcomed by the City of London Corporation, the municipal body of London’s financial district, which generally supports the sector’s interests.
“At a time of significant regulatory reform and global competition, it is critical that we have someone with a depth of knowledge and expertise in her role,” said Chris Hayward, the corporation’s policy chairman.
The BoE said that to manage any perceived conflict of interest, Braddick would immediately stop working for Barclays and the bank would immediately pay Braddick the deferred portion of his bonus.
David Roberts, head of the BoE’s supervisory board, said in a letter to the chair of Parliament’s Treasury Committee that Braddick would be barred from “being involved in any supervisory or enforcement decisions in relation to Barclays” for the first six months of his job.
He added that because of Barclays’ central role in the UK financial system, it was not practical for Braddick to hold back any longer.
In 2017, the committee criticized newly appointed Deputy Governor Charlotte Hogg for failing to be transparent about her brother’s work on the Barclays strategy team, ultimately convincing her to step down.
(Reporting by David Milliken and William James; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
