Adams will take up his new role on 1 October and will succeed Sheila Nicoll, who will become director of conduct policy.
Adams joined the FSA in 1998 from the Bank of England and has held a variety of roles, including head of wholesale insurance firms.
He currently heads up the department that supervises the major retail UK banks and has played a role in the response to the financial crisis and the recapitalisation of the banking sector.
He was responsible for the implementation of the supervisory enhancement programme (SEP) within his department.
Adams is also a representative on the international Senior Supervisors’ Group (SSG) and the Basel Committee Standards Implementation Group.
Jon Pain, retail managing director at the FSA, said: “Julian has been outstanding in dealing with some of the issues that the banking sector has faced in the last couple of years and has played a key role in implementing our more intensive supervision model for major firms.”
