The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed Hector Sants as its new chief executive, replacing John Tiner who steps down this month.
Sants is currently managing director of wholesale and institutional markets at the FSA. He joined the watchdog in May 2004 from Credit Suisse First Boston where he was chief executive of Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Sant's background in wholesale banking has made him highly regarded and liked in the City and he was seen as the front-runner for the CEO role when Tiner said he was stepping down.
Tiner, who was appointed chief executive of the FSA in September 2003, said in Janaury that he is leaving the regulator because he wants one last significant job in the private sector before he retires.