Andrew Bailey, the head of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority, is to take over from Mark Carney as the Governor of the Bank of England on the Ides of March.

In a statement published this morning on HM Treasury's website, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said: "I am delighted to announce that the next Governor of the Bank of England will be Andrew Bailey.

"When we launched this process, we said we were looking for a leader of international standing with expertise across monetary, economic and regulatory policy. In Andrew Bailey, that is who we have found.

"He was the standout candidate in a competitive field. Without question, he is the right person to lead the Bank as we forge a new future outside the EU and level-up across our great country.

"Andrew brings unparalleled experience of central banking and can draw on thirty years of experience in every aspect of the Bank’s work, from monetary policy to financial stability to the regulation of individual banks and insurance companies. During the financial crisis, he led the teams who were on the front line of the Bank’s response and it is a tribute to his integrity and his character that he emerged from the most serious crash in living memory with his reputation enhanced in Whitehall, in the City of London and in financial capitals around the globe.

"Many of you will know Andrew in his current role as Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority. He took over the organisation at a difficult time and has transformed it, putting the needs and interests of consumers first."

Bailey was the "safe pair of hands" whom former Chancellor George Osborne parachuted into the top job at the FCA in the wake of the Adamson affair. Before that, he was the head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, itself a division of the Bank of England where he had previously worked for many years, some of them as Chief Cashier.

His predecessor at the FCA, Martin Wheatley, was slow to react in March 2014 when Clive Adamson, the head of supervision, created a disorderly market by letting slip to the Daily Telegraph that an FCA investigation into life companies was going to take place, wiping billions of pounds off the share prices of large insurance carriers at the beginning of the working day. Many commented at the time that if a normal approved person had done this, a prison sentence might have been in order.

Adamson's subsequent departure was eventually followed by Wheatley's, with FCA stalwart Tracey McDermott taking over both jobs temporarily before herself moving off to a lucrative position at Standard Chartered.

Bailey has agreed to serve a full eight-year term.