If the Bank of England cracked the glass ceiling in UK financial markets when it recruited Charlotte Hogg as operating chief last summer, it could today lay claim to having shattered it.

The Bank has appointed Nemat 'Minouche' Shafik to the new post of deputy governor for markets and banking. She joins from the International Monetary Fund, where she oversees operations in Europe and the Middle East, has responsibility for its $1 billion administrative budget and handles HR for its 3,000 staff.