Previewing the Q3 2018 print edition: Marshall Bailey OBE
In the Q3 2018 edition of The Review, we talk to the new chairman of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Marshall Bailey OBE
Marshall Bailey OBE was appointed chairman of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in March 2018, and joined the FSCS officially in April. He has over 27 years’ experience in financial services, and has built up a non-executive director portfolio that includes positions with the National Bank of Jeddah, CIBC Capital Markets, Chubb Europe, CFA UK and UK Financial Investments. He was awarded an OBE in June 2018 for services to the financial sector and to charity.
Marshall on ...
The central purpose of financial services
“It often occurs to me that the reason money gets traded between currencies is to facilitate trade and business and commerce and travel and so forth, and that’s what this is all about. It’s not about trying to return as high a return on capital as you can for the shareholder – ultimately, businesses are about that – but banking is also about the greater economy and the greater good.”
The responsibility of the FSCS
Speaking of the importance of oversight and reform of those parts of the sector where bad advice is given to vulnerable people, such as misselling pension products to those who can now access their retirement pot under pension freedoms, Marshall says: “A big role that the FSCS can play here is to work with regulators and the sector to understand how these things arise so that preventative measures can be put in place to really protect these members of society from receiving bad advice and making bad decisions.”
Lessons learnt in financial services
“When I think of the historical studies done on how it was then and how it is now, everybody is better off. We’ve got lending, access to capital and lots of good educational programmes that we wouldn’t have had 50 years ago. I’m confident that if we keep trying to improve on these matters, and we all work together, we’ll get there.”
Advice for young professionals
“Don’t doubt yourself. We all want to be more ready or more prepared than we can be and you’re never going to be perfect, so seize the opportunities that are there and do your best with them.”
The full version of this article appears in the Q3 2018 print edition of The Review. All members, excluding student members, are eligible to receive the quarterly print edition of the magazine. Members can opt in to receive the print edition by logging in to MyCISI, clicking on My account, then clicking the Communications tab and selecting ‘Yes’.
Once you have read the print edition, keep coming back to the digital edition of The Review, which is updated regularly with news, features and comment about the Institute and the financial services sector.