Cooksey to manage UK government's stakes in banks

Cooksey is chairman of London & Continental Railways, the firm responsible for building the high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link and operating the UK arm of the Eurostar international train service. He is also chairman of Eurasian Natural Resources, a Kazakhstan-based group with mining operations.

He has also held senior positions in the private and public sectors, including director of the Bank of England, and chairman of the Audit Commission, which has responsibility for appointing auditors to local authorities in England and Wales. He also formed Advent Venture Partners in 1981, which was one of the first venture capital firms in the UK.

Cooksey will replace Glen Moreno, who has served as acting chairman since Philip Hampton left the UKFI in January to become chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

UKFI was set up in November 2008 to manage the UK government's investments in banks it has recapitalised.

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