Hector Sants, the chief executive officer of UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has confirmed that he will leave the organisation in summer this year.
Sants has led the FSA for three years, guiding the regulator through the recent financial crisis.
“When I was appointed I told the board that I planned to serve as CEO for three years, and I intend to stick to that timetable,” said Sants, in a statement. “Of course, those three years have encompassed the most extraordinary circumstances for a financial regulator, and I am very proud of the manner in which the FSA rose to the challenge of dealing with such unprecedented turbulence across global financial markets.”
The UK regulator has said it will announce the process for naming its new CEO in due course.
“Hector has given outstanding service and leadership through the turbulent last three years and has played a pivotal role in reforming the FSA into a truly effective organisation,” added Adair Turner, the FSA’s chairman. “We will be immensely sorry to lose him, but understand his decision to move on in the summer and wish him well in whatever he chooses to do after his departure. In the meantime, we will continue to work together to deliver the FSA’s reformed and intensive supervisory approach and drive forward the global regulatory reform agenda.”
The future of the FSA has been cast into doubt after the UK’s Conservative party said it would abolish the regulator and pass its responsibilities to the Bank of England if it comes into power later this year.