The change comes at a time when ministers are pressing regulators to support growth and competitiveness while maintaining financial stability. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called for a lighter regulatory burden on the financial sector, alongside a continued focus on resilience.
Announcing the appointment, Reeves said Braddick would be expected to deliver both. “Katharine Braddick is an accomplished pro-business leader with the experience to keep our financial system safe while backing the investment and lending that drives growth,” the chancellor said. “She understands the City and regulation, and will help ensure the UK remains one of the best places in the world to do business.”
As deputy governor, Braddick will lead prudential supervision of banks, building societies, insurers and major investment firms. She will sit on the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee and the Court of the Bank of England, helping to set and implement the UK’s prudential rulebook.
Woods, who has led the PRA for two five‑year terms, has been central to the post‑2008 framework governing capital and liquidity at UK banks and insurers. His successor will inherit key decisions, including whether and how to adjust capital requirements and buffers, an issue with direct implications for banks’ capacity to lend into the housing market.
Braddick’s earlier career included a decade as head of banking at the Financial Services Authority, including during the 2008 financial crisis, before that organisation was disbanded and its responsibilities transferred to the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority.