Chris Pond appointed as Director of Financial Capability for the FSA

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Hector Sants

I am delighted to welcome Chris to the FSA

FSA/PN/107/2007
03 October 2007

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed Chris Pond, currently Chief Executive for the National Council of One Parent Families, as Director of Financial Capability. This is a new position within the FSA and reflects the growing importance of the National Strategy for Financial Capability.

Chris takes up his post in December, and will bring a wealth of experience to the FSA. Between 1997 and 2005 he was the MP for Gravesham; between 2003-2005 he was a Minister at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP); and prior to this was the Chair of the Low Pay Unit. In recent years, Chris has served on the FSA's Working Group on Families and the Steering Group on Financial Capability. He is also part of the Thoresen Review Reference Group.

Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the FSA, said:

"I am delighted to welcome Chris to the FSA. He is already involved in our work on financial capability through his membership of the FSA's Financial Capability Steering Group and his experience in public policy will make him a great asset to the FSA."

Chris Pond said:

"This is an exciting time to be joining the FSA. The National Strategy for Financial Capability is growing in momentum and profile. There are many challenges ahead; the FSA has demonstrated its commitment to the strategy by the £17.1 million spend this year, and the pledge to keep financial capability high on the agenda with a budget of up to £20million in each of the years up to 2010/11."

Notes for editors

The creation of the new position of Director of Financial Capability has brought other structural changes at the FSA and the position of Director of Retail Themes now no longer exists. All the central teams working on Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) will now report to Director Sarah Wilson to reflect the significant steps to increase the focus and resource on this initiative. Policy and Themes (together with the financial promotions and unfair contract terms teams) have now come together as a new Division (Retail Policy and Themes) under Director Dan Waters. This reflects the need to bring policy and supervision closer together in a more principles-based world. The consumer sector and consumer communications teams will remain under the broader heading of Financial Capability and report directly to Chris Pond.
The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers; and fighting financial crime.
The FSA aims to promote efficient, orderly and fair markets, help retail consumers achieve a fair deal and improve its business capability and effectiveness.
Chris Pond's CV:


June 2005	Chief Executive, National Council for One Parent Families
October 2005	Chair, Capacity Builders
1996	Honorary Visiting Professor, Middlesex University
2006	Council Member, Institute for Fiscal Studies
2006	Independent Director (Non-Exec) Cape Claims Services
2007	Vice-Chair, End Child Poverty A coalition of 80 children’s and parenting organisations Financial Capability:
2005	FSA Working Group on Families
2006	FSA Steering Group on Financial Capability
2007	Thoresen Review Reference Group DWP Consultation Group, ‘Now Let’s Talk
1997 - 2005	Member of Parliament for Gravesham
2003 - 2005	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Work and pensions. Lead Minister for: Policy on working age benefits Housing Benefit (including proposals for reform) Social Fund Fraud and Error CSA (spokesman in the Commons) Payment modernisation (migration from Giros and Pension Books to Bank and Post Office Accounts International and European (ILO Minister for UK and member of EU Council for Social Affairs) European Social Fund Deputy Pensions Minister (steered Pensions Act 2005 through Commons with Malcolm Wicks) Joint Chair Inter-Ministerial Group on Over-Indebtedness
1999 - 2003	1999-2003 Parliamentary Private Secretary - HM Treasury Working with Paymaster General in establishment of tax credits Served on four Finance Bills and Tax Credits Bill Member of Joint Committee (Lords and Commons) on Tax Simplification
1997 - 1999	Social Security Select Committee Inquiries into Child Support, Pensions and Disability Other Parliamentary interests: Child Employment Protection (Private Member’s) Bill 1998 Successfully campaigned for Life Boats on the Thames and Marchioness Public Inquiry Associate of Inter-parliamentary Union Fellow of Industry and Parliament Trust (John Lewis Partnership) Macmillan Cancer Relief Parliamentary Champion 2003 RNIB Sponsor of Vision 2005 International Conference Sponsor British Council Fellowship Scheme
1997-1999	Chair, Low Pay Unit
1980-1997	Director, Low Pay Unit Small but high profile charitable and campaigning organisation providing advice and advocacy on all aspects of economic and social justice campaigned for and secured National Minimum Wage successfully campaigned for improved rights for part-timers raised profile of home-working and outworking secured better protection for children in employment provided specialist advice to individuals and organisations established a network of regional Low Pay Units around the country
	Other Voluntary Organisations Editorial Board, Charity magazine 1994/95 Management Committees of Unemployment Unit and Child Poverty Action Group Industrial Society Judges Panel, Journalist of the Year Award Ambassador, Guide Association IBM Management of Change in Voluntary Organisations, 1995
1995-1996	Adviser to the European Commission On future social policy prior to the Lisbon Strategy on jobs and growth Established an office in Brussels to liaise with Commission and European Parliament
	Academic and Research Experience Honorary Visiting Professor, Middlesex University, 1996 – Consultant Open University, 1987-88 and 1991-1992 Visiting Lecturer in Economics, University of Kent 1983 Hon Visiting Professor/Research Fellow Surrey University 1984-1986 Visiting Lecturer in Economics, Civil Service College, 1978-1980 Research Officer Low Pay Unit 1975-1978 Research Assistant in Development Economics, Birkbeck College 1974 BA (hons) Economics University of Sussex, 1974 Numerous books and articles, including To Him Who Hath (Penguin 1977, with Frank Field and Molly Meacher); Taxation and Social Policy (Heinemann 1980 with C.T.Sandford and Robert Walker).

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