Neddy Bulwer-Lytton once famously observed that the penis mightier than the sword. How poignantly true this seems in the week when we learned that Bankstone News’ recent searing indictment of The FSA’s Hector Santa has precipitated his abrupt departure from the job he never wanted in the first place (see previous issue).
Bankstone News takes no delight in the pivotal role our comments clearly played in hastening Santa’s shock resignation. We may even have experienced the odd twinge of mild remorse, for – as Matt Rutter of law firm DRC Beatcrotch told Post Magazine this week – Heck’s departure “couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
Now that top-dog Hector has so-suddenly left the building, all the little Kikis and Zsazsas left over at the now-doomed FSA will have to try and work out what he’s been up to, and do their best to ensure some kind of vaguely smooth transition to successor bodies the Punitive Regulation Authority and the Financial Corruption Authority.
It seems Hector was the only one who knew what was supposed to be happening: “His resignation before the new regime is properly in place leaves a huge void,” as Rutter puts it, and “creates great uncertainty around what the new regulatory regime will mean.”
But let’s not get hung up on semantics. It’s clear the FSA has not been the happiest of workplaces of late, as evidenced by another recent high profile departure – that of former Lord Sir Sugar’s sidekick Margaret – and Hector surely cannot be expected to hang around indefinitely.
“When I agreed to stay on as CEO in 2010,” he clarified, “I committed to stay and deliver an orderly transition to the government’s new regulatory structure. The project is now firmly on track and with the establishment of twin peaks within the FSA I will have achieved that goal.”
No longer dogged at least by constant catcalls from all and sundry, Hector must now resign himself to the prospect of six months’ gardening leave through the summer months, with just £300,000 or so to tide him over. In the meantime, it’s up to what’s left of his coquettish coterie of mignon minions to ensure the triumphant erection of his twin peak legacy.
I’m outta here!
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