Sarah Pritchard has been appointed deputy chief executive of the FCA.
The FCA says it has created the new role to reflect its expanding remit, with the integration of the Payment Systems Regulator, regulation of stablecoin and crypto firms as well as buy now pay later activities.
Sarah joined the FCA in June 2021 to jointly lead the supervision, policy and competition division. She has most recently been responsible for consumers and competition, having previously led the FCA’s markets function.
Sarah also has executive responsibility for the FCA’s international work and personally spearheaded recent G20/Financial Stability Board work on leverage in non-bank financial institutions.
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said: “Since joining us, Sarah helped bring together our supervision, policy and competition functions and has led some of our most high-profile work, for example the once-in-a-generation overhaul of the listing rules and landmark work on financial advice and guidance.
“Delivering our ambitious new strategy – to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives – is a collective endeavour and relies on continued reform. Sarah’s breadth of experience, in both public and private sectors, makes her ideally placed to help me drive this.”
Ashley Alder, chair of the FCA, commented: “The international environment is complex, our remit is growing and expectations of us continue to evolve. The board fully support Sarah taking on the role of deputy chief executive to help Nikhil lead the FCA day-to-day and cultivate our key relationships. Sarah has proven her ability to drive reform and deliver bold proposals at pace.”
Sarah Pritchard added: “The last four years has been marked by significant reform. I am looking forward to working even more closely with Nikhil so there is no let up in the pace of change, and to ensure we have the right relationships, domestically and internationally, to deliver our ambitious strategy.”
