Conclusions on appointments of Furse, Sharp and Taylor to FPC
5 June 2013
The Treasury Committee has today published a report concluding that Dame Clara Furse DBE, Richard Sharp and Martin Taylor have the professional competence and personal independence to be external members of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC).
- Report: Appointments of Dame Clara Furse, Richard Sharp, and Martin Taylor to the Financial Policy Committee (PDF)
- Transcript of the appointment hearings on 4 June 2013
- Dame Clara Furse - Responses to the questionnaire
- Dame Clara Furse - CV
- Richard Sharp - Responses to the questionnaire
- Richard Sharp - CV
- Martin Taylor - Responses to the questionnaire
- Martin Taylor - CV
The report also wishes each of the appointees success in their new role.
The Committee expressed serious concerns about the appointment of Dame Clara Furse, relating to:
- Her awareness of the importance of asserting the independence of the Financial Policy Committee; and
- Her explanation of her role on the board of Fortis in relation to the purchase of part of ABN AMRO and Fortis’s subsequent bailout, and the lessons she said that she had learnt from that experience. (page 6)
- The Committee noted that Mr Sharp himself recognised that he will need to acquire technical knowledge. (page 7)
Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie MP, comments:
"The FPC will sometimes have to take decisions that are politically unpopular. It is vital that it is independent from Government influence.
The FPCs external members should also challenge the views of those from inside the Bank and ensure the Committee does not fall prey to group-think.
We will expect to see evidence that the concerns raised in this report have been taken on board."