Charlotte Hogg, deputy governor of the Bank of England, has resigned after her failure to disclose family links to a commercial bank were criticised by a select committee.
Ms Hogg failed to formally declare that her brother Quintin is a strategy director at Barclays, which contravenes the Bank of England’s code of conduct.
She tendered her resignation as deputy governor of markets and banking on Monday (12 March).
She told MPs of her brother's role at Barclays when she was questioned by MPs about her promotion.
In her resignation letter, Ms Hogg apologised for the oversight, which she described as a “genuine mistake”.
This is a regrettable business with no winners.Andrew TyrieThe Treasury select committee criticised her professional competence, saying it fell short of the standards required to fulfill her role as Bank of England deputy governor.
Her initial resignation last week was rejected by Bank of England governor Mark Carney and Anthony Habgood, chairman of the Bank's court.
Her resignation letter this week said it had become clear that she “must now insist” on resigning.
“I recognise that being sorry is not enough. We, as public servants, must not merely meet but exceed the standards we expect of others,” she said.
Mr Carney said he deeply regretted Ms Hogg’s resignation.
“While I fully respect her decision taken in accordance with her view of what was the best for this institution, I deeply regret that Charlotte Hogg has chosen to resign from the Bank of England,” he said.
“Since Charlotte joined the Bank almost four years ago, she has transformed its management and operations.”
Critics said that Ms Hogg should not have been forced to resign over the slip up.
“It is surprising that somebody of Charlotte Hogg’s position managed to forget that her brother worked for Barclays,” says Simon Morris, a regulatory partner with law firm CMS.
“But while we don’t yet know the exact circumstances, this looks more like a good faith slip than deliberate deceit, and provides the politicians with little justification for hounding out a prominent central banker.”
Ms Hogg has served as the Bank’s chief operating officer since 2013, and has been touted as a possible successor to Mr Carney.
She replaced Minouche Shafik as deputy governor on 1 March.
The Bank of England said it has commissioned a review to ensure adherence to the Code of Conduct at the most senior levels of the Bank.
The review will examine any lessons from Ms Hogg’s case, the bank stated.
Andrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the Treasury select committee, said: “This is a regrettable business with no winners. Ms Hogg has acted in the best interest of the institution for which she has been working. This is welcome.
“It is also welcome that the Bank has responded immediately by announcing an internal review. The Bank's governance is already in much better shape than it was a few years ago. It is something to which the governor and court has been committed for some time. But there is clearly more to do.
“The Treasury committee will be examining the conclusions of this work in due course.”
