The FCA said the appointments will widen its international presence and support co-operation, exports, and investment into the UK.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has appointed Sabina Saini and Darine Obeid as financial services attachés for India and the United Arab Emirates, respectively.

Saini will be based at the British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai and Obeid will be based at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the FCA said in a statement. Saina started in the role on 10 August; Obeid begins on 31 August.

The regulator said the appointments will expand its global presence, joining a global network that includes the FCA's attachés in Washington DC, Brussels and Singapore, as well as Asia-Pacific. These moves support international co-operation, exports and investment into the UK, it said. 

“Our new financial services attachés in India and the UAE will advance the UK's interests on financial services policy and help drive investment into our open market,” Ruairí O’Connell, director, international, said. "The FCA's global network is vital to delivering across all parts of the FCA strategy. Our new presence will help us and our counterparts in India and the Gulf do even more together.”

Previously a manager at the FCA, Saini led work on the UK's critical third-parties regime and broader operational risk and resilience policy. She has almost 20 years' experience of financial regulation, audit and banking, in particular on prudential supervision and risk. Before joining the FCA in 2024, she spent over eight years at the Bank of England in roles spanning resolution policy, supervision and audit. Obeid has spent more than a decade at the FCA, specialising in supervision in retail banking, wholesale banking and fintech.

She has led high-profile engagement in financial crime, operational resilience, AI and customer outcomes.