Risk Talent · Executive search
Risk committee chair and NED search is RiskTAE’s retained search service for the non-executives who chair and sit on the risk committees of UK banks, building societies, insurers and investment firms.
A partner runs each search from the written brief to the first board meeting, and where the chair holds the PRA’s Chair of the Risk Committee function, SMF10, the regulator’s approval is planned from the start.
You see people who can challenge the chief risk officer on capital, liquidity and risk appetite, each interviewed on the substance before you read a CV.
By Benn PopleUpdated
The role
The chair of the risk committee holds the PRA’s SMF10: chairing, and overseeing the performance of, the committee that oversees the firm’s risk management systems, policies and procedures. The Risk Control Part requires a significant firm to have a risk committee of non-executive board members with the knowledge, skills and expertise to understand and monitor the risk strategy and the risk appetite; the committee advises the board on risk appetite and examines whether remuneration incentives take risk into account.
The chair must not perform any executive function in the firm, and both SS28/15 and SS5/16 make the chair responsible for the independence of the risk function and for overseeing its performance, the chief risk officer included.
Two points decide who takes the role. The function follows the activity: a smaller firm that runs a risk committee still needs its chair approved, because the PRA requires the function wherever someone performs it. And the head of the risk function cannot be removed without the board’s prior approval, so a CRO under pressure from the executive turns to this chair first; candidates ask about that relationship before the fee.
Sources: PRA Rulebook, Senior Management Functions Part, rule 4.3; Risk Control Part, rules 3.1, 3.3 and 3.5; PRA SS28/15, April 2026, paragraph 2.7, Tables B, E and F; PRA SS5/16, paragraph 4.3.
Candidates
SS5/16 expects non-executives to have current and relevant knowledge and experience, including sector experience, and the PRA says there is no single right background; since April 2026 its assessment counts approvals in other jurisdictions and SMF experience elsewhere. The people who fit are usually former chief risk officers and heads of risk with a portfolio of board roles, former supervisors, and audit chairs who have sat on the other side of an ICAAP.
The test we run hardest is whether a former executive can stop running the function. The PRA is clear that non-executives in scope of the regime are neither required nor expected to assume executive responsibilities; a chair who does the CRO’s job loses the CRO. We also test time: the PRA expects chairs to commit a significantly larger proportion of their time than other non-executives, and across a year the role is the ICAAP and ILAAP cycle, the recovery plan, supervisory meetings and time with the CRO between meetings.
Independence is checked before anyone is approached: even smaller firms should have at least two independent non-executives, the PRA considers it generally undesirable for a group executive to chair a key committee of a significant subsidiary, and under the FRC’s Code independence is affected after nine years on the board.
Sources: PRA SS5/16, paragraphs 5.1 to 5.3, 7.1, 8.1 and 12.5; PRA PS12/26, 22 April 2026, paragraphs 2.16 to 2.21; PRA SS28/15, April 2026, paragraph 2.33, Table G; FRC, UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, Provision 10.
Process
| Stage | What we do | What matters for a board appointment |
|---|---|---|
| Brief | A 30-minute call, then a written brief: the role, first-year success, the terms, the timetable. | We also ask for the committee’s terms of reference, the nomination committee’s skills gap and a draft statement of responsibilities, which goes to the PRA with the application. |
| Market map | The people who fit, most not looking, approached in confidence without naming you until they are interested. | Time and conflicts are checked in the first conversation; the strongest candidates already hold other approved roles. |
| Technical screen | Each candidate is interviewed on the substance before you see a CV, by former chief risk officers and heads of risk, former regulators and interim executives. | For a chair: risk appetite, the stress tests behind the ICAAP and the recovery plan, and how they would handle a CRO the executive is sidelining. |
| Shortlist | A short list with our written view of each person, then interviews and feedback on both sides. | The board chair and the nomination committee meet the shortlist; the CRO meets them too and gives a view without choosing. |
| Offer and approval | We handle the offer and plan around the PRA’s approval, which precedes the start. | Regulatory references cover six years, for notified non-executive candidates as well as SMF10; the criminal record check must be no older than six months at application. |
| Start | We stay close to you and the new chair through the first months. | The FCA’s handover rule requires a new senior manager to be given material that carries judgement and opinion, not just facts and figures; we ask the outgoing chair to write it before leaving. |
Sources: PRA Rulebook, Allocation of Responsibilities Part, rule 2.1; Fitness and Propriety Part, rules 2.7 and 2.9; PRA SS28/15, April 2026, paragraphs 6.4 and 6.5; FCA Handbook, SUP 10C.10.16R and SYSC 25.9.
The regulator’s timetable
PS12/26 changes to senior manager approvals took effect
A chair cannot take up SMF10 before approval. From a properly completed application the regulator has a statutory three months, and the clock stops when it asks for more information. In July 2025 the PRA set a target of at least half of SMF applications completed within 45 days, and reported 85 per cent within it for December 2025 to February 2026.
The work before the application sets the timetable. Regulatory references must cover the previous six years and be sought from every relevant former employer, with a four-week reply window that now binds all firms, and a firm may apply before every reference is in if it explains why. Add the candidate’s exit from any conflicting role, and the first meeting they can chair is a date you can plan.
If a chair leaves without notice, another non-executive can usually cover while the application for a successor is made. A term ending on a known date is not unforeseen, and the PRA expects a succession plan for every senior management function. Where the CRO goes too, we can run an interim chief risk officer assignment alongside the search.
Sources: FCA Handbook, SUP 10C.10.26G and 10C.10.28G; PRA PS12/26, 22 April 2026, paragraphs 2.79 and 3.8; PRA Rulebook, Senior Management Functions Part, rules 2.3 to 2.3B; Fitness and Propriety Part, rule 2.7; PRA SS28/15, April 2026, paragraphs 2.58C, 2.58D and 6.22 to 6.23, Table H.
Failure points
Sources: PRA SS28/15, April 2026, paragraphs 2.31, 2.33, 2.62 and 2.68, Table G.
Working with your board
A board appointment has different owners from an executive hire: the chair of the board and the nomination committee own it, the company secretary holds the calendar it must fit, and the CRO has a view the board should hear. We agree the brief with the first two, fit the timetable to the third so approval lands before the new chair’s first meeting, and make sure the CRO meets the shortlist.
With HR, in-house talent acquisition and RPO teams we split the work: they own the process and the offer, we bring the senior risk market map and the technical screen; see our page for talent acquisition teams.
The same firm runs advisory, training and the RisKIT models, so a new chair can start with an induction for the whole committee through board risk training, and the committee can get an independent view of the ICAAP from Risk Advisory. Where the gap is on the executive side, we also run chief risk officer search.
FAQ
The PRA requires a risk committee, and so an approved chair, at firms classed as significant. Elsewhere the function applies wherever someone performs it: if your board sets up a committee to oversee risk management systems, policies and procedures, whoever chairs it needs approval first.
Yes. Boards also need members who can challenge the chief risk officer without chairing. A non-executive who does not chair is not performing SMF10, but the firm must still seek six-year regulatory references for notified non-executive candidates, and the search runs the same way.
Yes: for building societies, insurers, investment firms, asset managers and payment firms, in the UK and for international clients. The regulatory detail differs by sector; the search does not.
The sitting chair is often still in post, so we approach candidates without naming you until they are interested, and where you ask, candidates sign a non-disclosure agreement before we name the firm. A candidate’s details are never shared without their agreement.
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In 30 minutes we will agree the brief with you and map the SMF10 approval against your board calendar.
Tell us about the role and a partner will come back to you. Treated in confidence.
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