The former director of supervision at the FCA, subject to approval by the Prudential Regulatory Authority, will join the JPMorgan in a non-executive director capacity under the official title of “independent advisor”. Adamson also serves as a non-executive director and Chairperson of the Risk and Capital Committee for insurance firm Prudential, a role he has held since March 2015 after his departure from the FCA.

Adamson left the FCA amid controversy over how he handled a probe into the insurance industry

Adamson left the FCA amid controversy over how he handled a probe into the insurance industry while serving as the director of supervision at the watchdog. In March 2014 Adamson briefed The Daily Telegraph that regulators were set to probe closed-book policies within the insurance industry, stretching back to the 1970s. The FCA published clarifying remarks six hours after the article ran, but within that time UK insurance shares took a sharp dive, with life insurance firms Phoenix and Resolutions seeing billions wiped from their share value, while Aviva and Friends Life were also badly hit.

Insurance board room executives were furious with how the FCA had announced its investigation and the incident prompted the FCA to compile a report investigating the matter. However, it has been insisted by some that Adamson left the regulators form other reasons, on his own accord and had been considering his exit prior to the episode.

While serving for the FCA, Adamson was also criticised by UK Members of Parliament for his oversight of the Co-operative Bank and approval to appoint now-disgraced Paul Flowers as its chairperson. Despite this, Adamson remains a respected figure in the banking industry, having also previously held roles at Citi, Bank of America and the now defunct FSA.