Credit to Sants for bank regulation

The man tasked with regulating the City in the run-up to the near-collapse of the UK banking system has been knighted.

Former Financial Services Authority (FSA) chief executive Hector Sants has been recognised for services to financial regulation after overseeing sweeping reforms following the nationalisation of Northern Rock and bailout of major banks.

But the knighthood will be seen as a controversial decision, as it was Sir Hector who led the organisation accused by MPs of being “asleep at the wheel” in the run up to the collapse of Northern Rock.

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While he was criticised for the FSA’s failure to spot and prevent the credit crunch and subsequent banking meltdown, he has since won praise for cleaning up the regulator and for his role in forcing banks to beef up balance sheets.

He said the award was a “testament to the hard work of everyone at the FSA during the crisis, their willingness to learn lessons and to bring about the changes that were necessary”.

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