Regulators will have wanted to see a safe pair of establishment hands installed as the next chairman of Barclays. Their wish has been granted.Sir David Walker could almost have been hand-picked by Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King. Suspicious folk may wonder if perhaps he has been. The answer is “sort of”. Threadneedle Street was asked to give its blessing.

It was as long ago as 1985 that Walker, then a senior employee of the Bank, was asked to clear up the great mess of the day. Johnson Matthey Bankers had had to be rescued by the Bank and Walker was selected to hose down the flames. He did such an effective job that he was even thought to be in the running to be governor of the Bank three years later.

That appointment never happened. Walker’s CV is instead long and varied: chairman of the Securities & Investments Board, forerunner of the Financial Services Authority; deputy chairman of Lloyds; two stints as chairman of Morgan Stanley International; and go-to guy for hot inquiries such as the review three years ago into how banks and other financial firms should be governed.

Read More: Guardian