Hector Sants' appointment as John Tiner’s replacement at the FSA comes as no surprise.
Sants, who heads up the wholesale division at the FSA, has been seen as the leading candidate ever since Tiner announced his intention to step down as chief executive earlier this year. He is widely liked in the City and has received plaudits for his crackdown on market abuse and toughening up the oversight of hedge funds. He has also won favour for his non-confrontational regulatory style.
The fact that he comes from the private sector rather than being a career regulator – he joined the FSA from Credit Suisse First Boston –will also been seen as positive.
Initial response from the insurance sector has been positive. Sants has given no suggestion that he views the general insurance sector has providing any greater risk to consumers than his predecessor. He has also stressed his commitment to risk-based and principles-based regulation.
Sants takes up his new position on 20 July after Tiner steps down the day before at the FSA’s annual general meeting. His initial focus is unlikely to be the general insurance sector. Market abuse and the flow of price-sensitive information has been flagged as a top priority.
However, it will not be long before Sants has to address the question of commission disclosure in the general insurance sector. Brokers will be hoping that he makes a commercially sounds decision on the matter.
