Andrew Bailey, who will head up the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) from April, told a City audience yesterday that the new regulator will focus on key issues rather than a wide range of potential problems.
However, he also emphasised that it would not mean it would be possible to avoid the banking failures seen through the financial crisis.
“This will not be a zero failure regime, but one where firms can fail in an orderly way without major detriment to the wider system,” he said.
According to a report in the Guardian, Bailey also insisted the buck will ultimately stop with him in the supervision of firms.
He said: “If I emphasise three things we should focus on in a firm and, as I occasionally get asked by supervisors, what if it is the fourth thing that blows the firm up?
“Well I’ve made that judgment. It may not be the right judgment in retrospect, but it is the one that I’ve made.”
