Bank of England appoints Sir Jon Cunliffe as new deputy

The Bank of England has recruited one of the most influential figures during the 2008 banking crash to succeed Paul Tucker as head of the central bank's financial stability arm.

Sir Jon Culiffen, a career civil servant who worked closely with former chancellor Gordon Brown at the height of the financial crisis, will succeed Tucker as deputy governor. The 60-year-old is currently the UK's most senior diplomat in Brussels.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney said Cunliffe's experience during negotiations at G8 and G20 summits will prove invaluable as Threadneedle Street seeks to influence the implementation of European and international financial rules.

Cunliffe will also find himself at the centre of the highly charged debate over the regulation of the UK's high street banks and the City, where regulation from Brussels is having an increasing influence. He will be in charge of dealing with the banking sector, which has recently lobbied for the central bank to agree more relaxed lending rules, despite concerns that several financial institutions remain at risk from collapse.

Carney said: "I have been fortunate to have worked with Jon for over a decade on a wide variety of international issues at the G7, G20 and Financial Stability Board. He brings an important European and international perspective that will be vital in ensuring that the Bank of England can shape both the UK and international financial systems so that they effectively serve the needs of the real economy."

Bank of England watchers have expected a significant clear out of senior staff as Carney, who replaced Lord King as governor, attempts to update the institution and shed its fogey-ish image. Technically Cunliffe is appointed by the queen in a process overseen by the Treasury. Another deputy governor, Charlie Bean, will step down next year.

James Barty, head of financial policy at the Policy Exchange thinktank, was critical of the appointment. "After the imaginative appointment of Mark Carney it is disappointing that the government has appointed a career civil servant as deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England. The financial crisis demonstrated that knowledge of financial markets is vital for any central banker. This is a missed opportunity," Barty said.

Cunliffe, who will take up his post in October when Tucker quits to lecture at Harvard University, was not among the runners and riders upon whom speculation had focused once Tucker quit but is thought to be close to John Kingman, the senior Treasury official who sat on the interviewing panel.

His appointment immediately sparked speculation about the future of Andy Haldane, the outspoken and highly regarded executive director for financial stability – a role regarded as the deputy to Tucker. An advocate of the leverage ratio to rein in the risks of banks – a gauge which is unpopular with the industry – Haldane has expressed different views in public to the new governor Mark Carney.