Sants made the claim during a Treasury Select Committee session in which he, FSA chairman Lord Turner and director Margaret Cole gave evidence on the near-collapse of RBS.
In response to questions about his own role at the regulator, Sants said he had no ambition to become the chief executive when he joined the FSA as managing director of wholesale and institutional markets in 2004.
He said he did not think his predecessor John Tiner would leave in 2007 and that he had not planned to apply for the job.
However, Sants said he was “talked into” applying for the chief executive role and had not planned to stay at the FSA as long as he has.
During yesterday’s session, Sants apologised for the failure of RBS and said he would not permit the lender’s former managers to work in finance again.
“I am truly sorry that the bank failed. I am truly sorry for all the small shareholders that got caught up in the financial crisis,” he said as he came under fire for failing to intervene in RBS’s disastrous takeover of ABN Amro.
He said he had concerns about the financial health of RBS and “could have shouted louder” about them.
