Bank of England Names Three New Court Directors and Reappoints Two Non-Executives

Key Takeaways

• The Chancellor and His Majesty the King have appointed David Craig, Paul Nowak, and Hanneke Smits as non-executive directors of the Bank of England's Court of Directors.
• Lord Jitesh Gadhia and Tom Shropshire have been reappointed.
• The update involves no new regulatory obligations.
• It matters to compliance teams as a signal of governance priorities and leadership at the UK's central bank and prudential authority.

Deep Dive

The Chancellor and His Majesty the King have appointed David Craig, Paul Nowak, and Hanneke Smits as non-executive directors of the Bank of England's Court of Directors. Lord Jitesh Gadhia and Tom Shropshire have been reappointed. The update involves no new regulatory obligations. It matters to compliance teams as a signal of governance priorities and leadership at the UK's central bank and prudential authority.

The timeline is staggered. David Craig and Paul Nowak serve four-year terms until 31 August 2030, with first Court meetings on 17 September and 22 October 2026, respectively. They replace Sir Ron Kalifa and Baroness Frances O'Grady. Hanneke Smits serves from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030, succeeding Sabine Chalmers, who intends to resign at the end of October 2026, and will attend her first meeting on 11 February 2027. Lord Gadhia's second term begins 24 October 2026, and Tom Shropshire's begins 1 November 2026. Continuity is preserved through the reappointments and through Ms. Smits' prior Court service.

The appointees' backgrounds point to relevant themes. Mr. Craig brings financial data and technology expertise and co-chairs the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, which is relevant to climate and nature-related risk, data, and technology oversight. Ms. Smits contributes asset management experience, relevant to non-bank financial intermediation. Mr. Nowak adds labor and international policy perspectives. Mr. Shropshire contributes legal and risk and resilience experience, and Lord Gadhia adds investment banking expertise. These are observations only, as the release does not state policy intentions. The appointments followed the Governance Code on Public Appointments, and appointees confirmed no party political activity in the last five years, reinforcing independence expectations.

Recommended actions are limited. Compliance and regulatory affairs teams should update stakeholder and regulator-engagement maps, note the new Court members in horizon-scanning materials, and monitor speeches and publications from new members for emerging priorities, particularly on nature-related disclosures, data and technology, and asset management. Teams should also confirm that internal conflict-of-interest and related-party screening lists reflect the new directors' affiliations, such as LSEG, BNY, Thermo Fisher, and Rolls-Royce, if the firm has relationships with those entities. Overall impact is low and the risk is mainly informational.

Source: Bank of England