The Financial Conduct Authority has established outposts in the US and Asia-Pacific for the first time as the watchdog bids to smooth regulatory friction and boost UK growth.
In the US, the FCA will be represented by Tash Miah at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.
She will work with the Department for Business and Trade “to advance UK-US financial services policy and regulatory cooperation, and support financial firms in the US to navigate UK regulation,” the watchdog says.
Miah joined the FCA in 2022 and has worked in its international division covering non-bank financial intermediation and has led its financial stability engagement group.
Camille Blackburn will be based in Australia and is tasked with establishing a regional office from July as the watchdog’s director – Asia-Pacific.
It says her role will focus on “supporting financial services firms to navigate regulation to enter the UK market or raise capital and provide UK firms with support expanding into the APAC region”.
Blackburn has been the director of wholesale buyside at the FCA since 2022, responsible for supervision, policy and market analysis for asset management and related services.
FCA executive director, supervision, policy, competition and international Sarah Pritchard adds: “These appointments will help us deliver on our mission to support growth through the export of UK financial services and attracting more inward investment to our shores.
“We recognise that major international investors want easier access to us, and having a presence in these key regions will help achieve that.”
Earlier this month, the FCA said it would help “bring innovative products and services to market faster” over the year ahead.
This came as the UK’s largest regulator began the first year of its new five-year plan, amid government pressure on all of the country’s watchdogs to cut red tape to allow firms to grow.
