Andew Bailey, who has been head of the prudential business unit at the UK’s Financial Services Authority, has been appointed deputy governor of the Bank of England, with effect from 1 April, the UK government announced yesterday.

In this role, Bailey will be chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority at the BoE and a member of the BoE’s court of directors and its financial policy committee.

The announcement comes at a time when the Bank of England has been put in charge of prudential regulation of the banking system, as part of a shake-up to how financial services are regulated in the UK in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

“Putting the Bank of England in charge of prudential regulation is at the heart of the government’s reforms to the regulation of financial services. It will be a tough, forward-looking regulator, focused on the stability of banks, other deposit takers and insurers – and with a mandate to protect policyholders,” George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in the statement.

The move represents a return to the BoE for Bailey; he joined the central bank in 1985 and has worked in areas such as, most recently, executive director for banking services and chief cashier, as well as head of the bank's special resolution unit. Previous roles include that of the governor's private secretary and head of the International Economic Analysis Division in Monetary Analysis.

In 2011, Bailey joined the FSA as deputy head of the Prudential Business Unit and director of UK banks and building societies. In July last year, he became managing director of the Prudential Business Unit.