Gina and Alan Miller are urging the Treasury Select Committee and newly minted chancellor Rishi Sunak to launch an investigation into Andrew Bailey before he steps into the role of the governor of the Bank of England next month.
Bailey was revealed as Mark Carney’s replacement as the top boss at the Bank of England last December and is due to start his term on 16 March. His appointment was met with incredulity and scorn by industry campaigners, including the Millers, and also created divisions within Boris Johnson’s cabinet.
The SCM Direct co-founders (pictured) ramped up their attack on Tuesday in an explosive report from the True & Fair Campaign, which catalogued “the litany of failures and scandals” that have happened on the FCA’s watch since the global financial crisis, as well as a “devastating dossier of the conduct of UK financial regulators, supervisors and central bankers”.
In it they express their “serious reservations” about Bailey’s ability to fulfil the “important public office” of the head of Britain’s central bank.
“Andrew Bailey’s tenure as chief executive of the FCA has been characterised by a toxic cocktail of negligence, incompetence and indifference to the needs of ordinary depositors, investors and pensioners,” they said.
“On his watch, hundreds of thousands of Britons have lost money – in many cases, losing their life savings which has devastated their lives, families and businesses.”
Number of scandals increased under Bailey
Though the Millers accuse the regulator of being “asleep at the wheel” for years, they allege that since Bailey became top boss in July 2016, the number of financial scandals that have seriously affected UK retail customers has increased.
The blow-up of Neil Woodford’s flagship Equity Income fund, which left thousands of investors trapped and unable to withdraw their money, happened under Bailey, as did the London Capital & Finance mini-bond scandal and the swathe of property funds gating after the Brexit vote.
“This is a man whom the Commons Treasury Select Committee has publicly derided for presiding over an organisation that has ‘a rather complacent attitude’ to financial wrongdoing,” the pair noted.
“Where has such stinging criticism of this powerful regulator’s performance, or lack of, led him to? Has he been held to account for misconduct in public office? To public censure? To resignation? To prison? No. None of the above. This extraordinary track record of failure and complacency has, instead, been rewarded by Mr Bailey being appointed as the next governor of the Bank of England.”
BoE governor and FCA CEO appointments must be vetted
“The authors believe the evidence amassed in this report clearly demonstrates the requirement for an urgent review of Mr Bailey’s appointment, and whether he satisfies the mandatory requirements or several of the supplementary requirements for the appointment to governor of the Bank of England,” the Millers continued. “Without such a review there is a serious threat to the reputation and perceived independence of the Bank of England – both nationally and internationally.
In addition to reviewing Bailey’s appointment, the Millers said Bailey’s successor at the FCA must also be vetted.
“These same concerns also relate to the appointment of Mr Bailey’s successor as chief executive officer of the FCA, in terms of the need for a candidate with unimpeachable pro-consumer credentials, and a track record of achieving positive outcomes in the best interests of consumers in the retail financial services, banking and insurance sectors.”
