"The FSA regulates the UK's financial services industry, one of the most important parts of the economy. With a staff of 2,500 and a budget of 200 million pounds, it watches over 10,000 institutions, including banks, building societies, stock brokers, life insurers, general insurers, financial advisers and fund managers."
He would take over from Howard Davies who is to be the new director of the London School of Economics.
"McCarthy and Davies have much in common. Both were educated at Manchester Grammar School, Merton College, Oxford, and Stanford University and both had stints in the civil service in their early careers."
"McCarthy is well qualified for the job. For much of the 1990's he was a senior executive at Barclays, where he was chief executive of its Japanese and North American operations. Before that, he headed corporate finance at BZW, Barclay's former investment banking arm. In 2000 he became chairman of Ofgem, the new energy super-regulator, having previously been director general of its predecessor Ofgas. At Ofgem, he introduced far greater competition into the gas and electricity markets in an attempt to reduce the regulatory burden on the power companies. His arrival should ... allay concerns in the City that they will be swamped with yet more red tape."
Chris Burford London