Sir Howard Davies, former head of regulator Financial Services Authority is likely to be the next chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank has been wanting to replace Sir Philip Hampton, who has been at the helm since 2009 following the bailout of the bank by the government. Hampton is to set to take over as chairman of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline in September. According to reports, chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will be interviewing the candidates, who include Lord Smith of Kelvin, a former banker who conducted a review of Scottish devolution, Dame Alison Carnwath, the chair of Land Securities, and Lord O’Donnell, a former head of the civil service besides Sir Howard. He was a director of the London School of Economics although he resigned in 2011 over the university’s dealings with the Gaddafi regime. He is on the risk committee of Morgan Stanley and insurance company Prudential. He is running the government’s review of UK airport capacity, which is set to choose between Heathrow and Gatwick as the location for a new runway in south-east England.
