Two senior executives at the Financial Conduct Authority are set to step down from their roles, including the head of supervision, according to FTAdviser sister publication The Financial Times.
In his current role, Clive Adamson is responsible for supervising regulated companies, and he is also a member of the FCA’s executive board.
Zitah McMillan, director of communications and international at the FCA, is also likely to step down from the regulator, the FT said.
An FCA restructure is expected to be announced next week, however the FCA declined to comment.
This comes ahead of the publication of an investigation by a partner at law firm Clifford Chance, Simon Davis, which examines the way the FCA briefed a highly sensitive story to the Daily Telegraph.
At that time, chancellor George Osborne publicly reprimanded the FCA for disturbing markets with its briefing saying he was “profoundly concerned”, and the story sent insurance shares down, until the FCA published a statement clarifying the review.
Financial Conduct Authority chief executive Martin Wheatley admitted the regulator’s handling of the probe into so-called zombie insurance funds that caused a ‘disorderly market’ was not the FCA’s “our finest hour” in April.
Clifford Chance’s report is expected to criticise the briefing of the media and call for tighter measures when the regulator is communicating with the press.
According to the report in the Financial Times, Mr Adamson has told friends his decision to leave was not directly prompted by the Davis review but was due to a range of factors, including differences over strategy.
It has also been reported that director of communications and international at the FCA Zitah McMillan is likely to step down.
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
