That something wasn’t that Resolution boss Clive Cowdery is going to float his business, although that was of course very interesting. No, what caught my attention was that he had managed to land the transfer of the season, by securing Jon Tiner, former chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), as the new CEO.
Maybe I am the only person who has a problem with this, because as I write this some hours later, there has been no commentary from any quarter outlining concerns about such an appointment.
But can it really be right that a man who held the shape and direction of the financial services industry under his control between 2001 and 2007 should then be allowed to work for a company that operates within that regulatory regime?
Of course, I am not saying that Tiner has done anything wrong. He hasn’t. His contract as an executive at the FSA would have contained restricted covenants that would prevent him from taking employment with regulated companies for a specific period of time, normally six months after leaving. He has far exceeded that restriction, as he left the FSA last July. But it raises the question – it does for me, anyway – whether someone who has had such power in formulating regulation should then be allowed to operate within the regulatory framework they in effect created.
Speaking of his relationship with Cowdery, Tiner said: “It was a meeting of minds even if we had ultimately different objectives.” Well, ultimately it would appear that their objectives are very much aligned.
He continued: “We both knew a sector that was going nowhere had to be unlocked. Now we can see the opportunity to restructure businesses more broadly across the financial services sector.” Hmmm. It must be easier to consider ways to unlock poorly performing sectors now that principle-based regulation has provided a more pragmatic framework for financial services companies to operate within. It is interesting to note that despite overseeing the split-cap debacle and other transgressions in his time at the FSA, it was he who put the regulator on just that road to reform.
It is only my opinion (and it would appear that I really am the only one to hold this view), but as senior politicians should be prevented from taking advantage of the industries they have overseen, mandarins seeking to take advantage of a gravy train should be positively discouraged.
This is especially important now, when the FSA is seeking greater transparency from financial services and a sea change in the way advice is delivered to the end consumer.
Pádraig Floyd - Editor
