FCA Appoints Interim Head of Retail Banking Following Payments Regulator Shake-Up

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Emad Aladhal Appointed Interim Director of Retail Banking Following FCA Shake-Up

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has named Emad Aladhal as the interim director of retail banking, filling the vacancy left by David Geale. Aladhal will assume his new role on July 1 for a nine-month term. This change follows the recent appointment of Geale as the interim managing director of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) after the sudden departure of Chris Helmsley in late May.

Helmsley’s exit came amid controversy over new fraud reimbursement regulations set to take effect in October. These regulations require banks and payment firms to refund victims of authorised push payment fraud up to £415,000 per claim. Critics argue that these measures could jeopardize the business models of smaller firms and incentivize fraudulent claims. City Minister Bim Afolami recently highlighted the “significant problems” with the proposals.

The Payments Association has called for a one-year delay to the implementation of these rules and is lobbying to reduce the refund threshold to £30,000.

Aladhal, who has been with the FCA since January 2021 as the director of a specialist financial crime team, has overseen the regulator’s response to major crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Before rejoining the FCA in 2017, he spent nearly four years at JP Morgan.