Mr Coleman will take up the permanent role on 10 October 2026 for a 3-year term, having served as interim chair for the last year.

He is also group chair of London & Quadrant Housing Trust. He has extensive financial services and public-sector experience, including previous roles at the FCA, NHS Foundation Trust, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland and Cooperative Bank.

Ashley Alder, chair of the FCA, said: “Liam has brought strong leadership and valuable insight to the Financial Ombudsman over the past year. His extensive experience across financial services, regulation and public service organisations will be invaluable as we work together to support a redress system that is fair, predictable and effective for consumers and firms.”

Mr Coleman added: “I am honoured to take on the permanent role as chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service. It plays a vital role in upholding fairness and trust in the financial system. I am pleased to be able to continue to work with the rest of the Board, the executive team, and our wider stakeholders.”

It comes after the FCA was grilled by campaigners and whistleblowers at its annual public meeting in Edinburgh following the death of Simon Andreisz. 

The campaigners and whistleblowers challenged its decision to let one of its own non-executive directors investigate how it dealt with Mr Andreisz before his death.

The financial services watchdog faced intense questioning over its decision to appoint non-executive director Lea Paterson to lead the probe into the regulator’s communication with Mr Andreisz and its handling of whistleblowers.

The meeting, held at the Assembly Rooms, was the regulator’s first ever annual public meeting in Scotland. The FCA claimed it was also its largest, with more than 900 people attending online or in person.

Founder of the Transparency Taskforce Andy Agathangelou called for Mr Alder to resign during a heated exchange, which saw the board face intense scrutiny from whistleblowers and campaigners following news of the planned probe.