Osborne Ousts FCA’s Wheatley After Criticism of Big Fines

Martin Wheatley, chief executive officer of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority .
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg

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By Suzi Ring

July 17, 2015 at 11:21 AM UTC

Updated on

July 17, 2015 at 3:19 PM UTC

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Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne ousted the U.K. finance industry’s top watchdog a month after saying the era of “ever-larger” fines for bank misconduct was over.

Martin Wheatley, whose Financial Conduct Authority issued a record 1.47 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) in fines last year, will be replaced temporarily by Tracey McDermott, the regulator’s former enforcement chief, the London-based FCA said in a statement on Friday.