It will take real action to bring more diversity to the finance industry

The new Financial Conduct Authority boss has warned companies – but that may not be enough, writes James Moore

The FCA’s new chief has called on firms to do better on diversity (Getty)

Nikhil Rathi, the new boss of the Financial Conduct Authority, made some waves last week when he warned financial companies that the watchdog could block senior hires if the miserable progress they’ve made on diversity doesn’t improve.

The timeliness of his comments have been underlined by some figures unearthed through a freedom of information request made by law firm Pinsent Masons, which sought to discover the proportion of women hired to senior roles by regulated firms.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the industry is still dragging its feet through the mud.