Lea Paterson and Matthew Tobin appointed to Financial Conduct Authority Board

The Financial Conduct Authority will gain two non-executive board members on 1 October 2026: Lea Paterson CBE and Matthew Tobin, whose appointments were announced by HM Treasury on 30 September. Each is due to serve an initial three-year term. Their arrival adds experience in central banking, regulation and financial services law to the board that oversees the UK financial regulator.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby confirmed the appointments. According to the Treasury, they were made jointly by her and the Department for Business, Innovation and Science after a recruitment process run by HM Treasury. The announcement gives a start date for both directors, but does not assign either a particular board committee or portfolio.

What Lea Paterson brings to the FCA Board

Paterson has worked in regulation, central banking and financial journalism, according to the Treasury’s account of her career. She was economics editor of The Times from 2000 to 2004 and has held senior roles at the Bank of England. The announcement highlights her experience in public accountability, strategic communications, people and risk management.

She is currently a Civil Service Commissioner and a board member of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. The Treasury also lists an independent role on the University of Warwick’s remuneration committee, alongside voluntary and community positions. Paterson was appointed chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body in 2024 and received a CBE for services to the economy in the 2023 New Year Honours.

Matthew Tobin’s financial services experience

The interventions on which he advised HM Treasury include the Asset Protection Scheme, the Credit Guarantee Scheme, the COVID Corporate Financing Facility and the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, according to the announcement. It also says he advises boards and treasury functions of large listed companies on financing strategy, regulatory change, disclosure and operational resilience.

What the FCA Board does

The FCA says its board includes executive and non-executive members and holds the regulator accountable for how it works. Its current board listing names Ashley Alder as chair and Nikhil Rathi as chief executive and an executive board member. The appointments will place Paterson and Tobin among directors whose remit extends across the regulator’s work, rather than in management posts announced for a single policy area.

The scale of that work makes board appointments relevant beyond the financial services industry. The Treasury says the FCA regulates the conduct of about 42,000 businesses and sets specific prudential standards for roughly 17,000 firms. Its objectives include consumer protection, the integrity of the UK financial system and effective competition in consumers’ interests. It also has a secondary objective concerning UK competitiveness and longer-term growth.

Board membership has changed recently. In April 2025, the FCA reported the appointments of Julia Black, Anita Kimber, John Ball and Stéphane Malrait as non-executive directors, as well as an extension of Richard Lloyd’s term. In that announcement, the FCA said its board sets strategic direction, makes key policy decisions and holds its executive to account. Those are the institutional responsibilities into which the two new members are joining.

Appointment process and next steps

The Treasury says appointments to the FCA Board are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. It also says Paterson and Tobin each confirmed that they had not engaged in political activity during the preceding five years. Its announcement describes the recruitment as fair and open; it does not provide a detailed account of the candidate field or selection deliberations.

Rigby said the government wants regulation that helps businesses grow and innovate responsibly, describing the FCA as a key partner in that aim. FCA chair Ashley Alder welcomed the two directors, saying their experience and judgement would help guide its work for consumers and markets. Those comments set out the officials’ expectations for the appointments; the immediate confirmed change is the addition of two directors for terms beginning on 1 October.