Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK banking watchdog, has announced his resignation.
He will stand down from his role with effect from September 12th. No permanent successor has yet been appointed and his position will be temporarily overseen by Tracy McDermott, an executive board member and director of supervision in the FCA's investment, wholesale and specialists division.
Wheatley has been at the regulator since 2011 and became chief executive of the FCA in December 2012 when its predecessor the Financial Services Authority was split into two units - the FCA and the Prudential Regulatory Authority.
Wheatley's reign has been notable for the large fines levied at a number of banks over the last 12 months. These included the £1.1 billion penalties imposed on five banks (HSBC, JP Morgan, UBS, Citi and RBS) for FX failings, a £126 million fine on BNY Mellon for breaking its custody rules, a £284 million fine on Barclays for its part in the FX rigging and a £226 million penalty imposed on Deutsche Bank relating to the Libor fixing scandal.
Wheatley had set out the FCA's business plan for 2015/16 in March which included a review of "technology developments and their impact on firms' investments, consumers and regulators" as well as a new focus on firms' systems and controls in relation to financial crime.