TheCityUK picks its man to rejuvenate financial services
PROMOTIONAL body TheCityUK has moved into gear in its quest to transform the perception of the UK financial services industry at home and abroad, appointing Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) director general Chris Cummings as its first permanent chief executive.
Cummings, 42, will take up the post in August. He joins a raft of the City’s most prominent business leaders in the upper echelons of the new body, including chairman Stuart Popham, the senior partner at law firm Clifford Chance.
“We have now taken off and reached cruising altitude,” Popham said. “This signals that TheCityUK is open for business.”
Popham said Cummings would act as an ambassador for the industry across the country and abroad, while also taking a hands-on approach to advising on upcoming changes to financial services regulation.
However, he refused to be drawn on the pitfalls of handing powers from the FSA to the Bank of England.
Cummings is expected to schedule meetings with chancellor George Osborne within weeks of joining, to put forward his regulatory suggestions and concerns.