New chairman and appointments to Practioner Panel

Russell is a partner at Deloitte LLP, the business advisory firm. He succeeds Iain Cornish who has stepped down from the chairmanship as he prepares to leave Yorkshire Building Society.

In addition, the panel has recently been strengthened with a number of new appointments. The following have been appointed from 1 August 2011:

Graham Beale - chief executive, Nationwide Building Society

Joe Garner - head of UK Retail Bank and deputy chief executive, HSBC Bank plc

Paul Geddes - chief executive, RBS Insurance

John Pollock – group executive director, protection & annuities, Legal & General

Also appointed to the Panel earlier this year were Mark Harding, group general counsel, Barclays Bank PLC; and Colin Grassie, chief executive officer, Deutsche Bank UK.

Hector Sants, chief executive of the FSA, said: “I am pleased that Russell has agreed to chair the Practitioner Panel. His background in professional services working with firms from all sectors of the industry is helpful during this time of change in the regulation of financial services, both in the UK and globally.

“The fact that the Panel has continued to recruit senior industry representatives is testament to its importance in providing input and challenge to the FSA’s work.

“I am also grateful to Iain Cornish for his work as chairman and other members of the Panel who have recently left the Panel for their contribution to the work of the FSA during this time of significant change and challenge for the industry.”