LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc said onTuesday it had appointed Clara Furse, the former chief executiveof the London Stock Exchange, to chair its ring-fenced UKbusiness.
Furse, who is also resigning from her position as a memberof the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee, willoversee the British retail banking and wealth management,commercial banking and global private banking operations ofEurope's largest lender.
"We are thrilled to have secured Clara as chairman of theHSBC UK Board," HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint said in astatement. "She brings unrivalled knowledge of the UK'sfinancial markets, systems and regulatory architecture."
Britain's ring-fencing rules aim to avoid a repeat of the2008 financial crisis, when banks' bad bets in financial marketsthreatened ordinary depositors' cash, and led to bigtaxpayer-funded bailouts.
The rules apply to all banks in Britain that have bothretail and commercial or investment banking activities.
HSBC's ring-fenced bank will be headquartered in Birminghamfrom 2018, a year before the separation of the business has totake place. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill, editing by Sinead Cruise)