Tracey McDermott is to quit the Financial Conduct Authority.

McDermott has been acting chief executive of the finance watchdog since last September but withdrew from the process to appoint a permanent CEO.

Andrew Bailey was announced as the new chief executive in late January and is due to take up the post on July 1, when McDermott has announced she will leave the FCA,

She has previously been director of supervision and authorisations and prior to that director of enforcement and financial crime.

John Griffith Jones, FCA chairman, said: “Tracey has done a terrific job leading the FCA over the last seven months, building on the enormous contribution she has made in her various roles over the previous fifteen years. Transitions are always challenging and her energy and clarity of purpose have been invaluable in steering the organisation in the right direction.”