Andrew Bailey named next Bank of England governor

Former Bank of England (BoE) deputy governor Andrew Bailey will be the British central bank’s next governor, finance minister Sajid Javid has said.

Bailey, 60, is chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, a regulator charged with fighting misconduct in the finance industry. He previously spent 30 years at the BoE.

Britain had delayed the appointment of a new BoE governor since last year with the country focused on Brexit – the effect of which remains a big challenge for the central bank – and then an election won by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week.

Bailey will take over from Mark Carney, a Canadian who was previously governor of the Bank of Canada.

“Andrew was the stand-out candidate in a competitive field,” finance minister Javid told reporters on Friday. “He is the right person to lead the Bank as we forge a new future outside the EU and level-up opportunity across the country.”

Bailey said in a statement that he was honoured to take over the BoE, “particularly at such a critical time for the nation as we leave the European Union.”

His role in containing the 2008-09 near-meltdown of the financial sector means he remains a familiar face to top officials at the US Federal Reserve and other large central banks.

In 2016, he moved to his current role, running the Financial Conduct Authority, which is responsible for cracking down on financial misconduct.

Javid said Bailey would serve an eight-year term as governor starting on March 16. Current Governor Mark Carney has agreed to delay his departure to March 15 from a previously scheduled date of January 31.