Liam Coleman has been appointed Liam Coleman FOS chair on a permanent basis, taking up the role on 10 October for a three-year term after the Financial Conduct Authority secured Treasury approval for the appointment. Coleman, who had been serving as interim chair for the previous year, brings a career spanning financial services, regulation and public sector leadership to one of the most scrutinised bodies in UK retail finance.
For investors and savers who rely on the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as a backstop when disputes with their banks, insurers or investment providers go unresolved, the stability of leadership at the top of that organisation is not a trivial matter. A functioning, well-run FOS underpins confidence in the redress framework that consumer-facing regulation depends upon.
A career built across banking, regulation and public service
Coleman’s professional background is unusually broad for a regulatory appointment. His previous roles include positions at the FCA itself, Nationwide Building Society and Royal Bank of Scotland. According to the FCA’s own press release, Coleman also served as chief executive of The Co-operative Bank, giving him direct experience of running a retail bank through periods of institutional challenge. The Financial Ombudsman Service board page records that he holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, rounding out an academic grounding to match that operational record.
FCA chair Ashley Alder described Coleman’s first year in the interim role in positive terms. ‘Liam has brought strong leadership and valuable insight to the Financial Ombudsman over the past year,’ Alder said. ‘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.’
Coleman himself acknowledged the weight of the role. ‘I am honoured to take on the permanent role as chair of the FOS. It plays a vital role in upholding fairness and trust in the financial system,’ he said. ‘I’m pleased to be able to continue to work with the rest of the board, the executive team and our wider stakeholders.’
Context: leadership turbulence and what it means for the redress system
The confirmation of Liam Coleman as FOS chair comes after a period of considerable disruption at the top of the organisation. Baroness Manzoor departed as chair in August 2025, and that exit followed closely on the resignation of CEO and chief ombudsman Abby Thomas, who left with immediate effect. Two senior departures in quick succession at any regulated body invite questions about institutional continuity, and the FOS is no exception.
For savers and investors engaged in a live complaint or anticipating one, the practical implication is straightforward: a three-year settled term for the chair provides a degree of governance stability the organisation clearly needed. Over a horizon of three to five years, the FOS will face continued pressure on caseloads, particularly as complex areas such as discretionary investment management, defined contribution pension drawdown and consumer credit disputes continue to generate complaints at scale.
There are, of course, risks worth keeping in mind. A new permanent chair inherits existing structural pressures: the FOS has faced criticism from some quarters over consistency of decisions and the time taken to resolve cases. Whether Coleman’s background in executive leadership translates into lasting operational improvement remains to be seen from outside the organisation. Investors and their advisers will be watching the FOS’s published annual review data as the most objective measure of progress under his tenure.
Coleman’s three-year term began on 10 October, giving the FOS a defined period in which to demonstrate that the redress system Alder described as needing to be ‘fair, predictable and effective’ is moving in that direction.
