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An Audience With Sheila Nicoll: ‘Calling government intervention Big Bang 2.0 is a bit Liz Truss-y’

From Big Bang and Brexit to the next bust, the policy expert looks back at how four decades of regulatory upheaval has shaped the City

Sheila Nicoll has been involved in some of the City’s most seismic moments over the past three decades
Sheila Nicoll has been involved in some of the City’s most seismic moments over the past three decades Photo: Danilo Agutoli For FN

Sheila Nicoll stares at the TV screen in shock: queues are forming outside Northern Rock and the Square Mile is entering a state of panic. It’s September 2007 and Nicoll is more than 1,000 miles away on holiday in Córdoba, Spain, watching the drama unfold on CNN.

She is due to start at the Financial Services Authority in a matter of days. Part of her job will be to sort the whole mess out. “I thought: ‘Oh dear, what am I letting myself in for?’” she says.

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