Derek Wanless

Derek Wanless
Born	(1947-09-29) 29 September 1947 Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Died	22 May 2012(2012-05-22) (aged 64)
Occupation(s)	Banker, advisor
Years active	1967–2007
Known for	Chief executive of NatWest; Chairman of Northern Rock Risk Committee; NHS funding reviews

Sir Derek Wanless (29 September 1947 – 22 May 2012) was a prominent English banker and advisor affiliated with the Labour Party.

Biography

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Derek Wanless received his education at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. Between 1967 and 1970, he pursued mathematics at King's College, Cambridge supported by a Westminster Bank scholarship, graduating as the Senior Wrangler in 1970. He attained professional qualification as a statistician and completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard. Wanless held membership in the Institute of Statisticians and was a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, serving as its president in 1999.

Wanless began his career at Westminster Bank in 1967, initially working on Saturdays. He advanced to become NatWest’s director of personal banking from 1986 to 1988, followed by roles as general manager overseeing UK Branch Business and UK Financial Services. In 1992, he was appointed group chief executive, a position he maintained until 1999 when he reportedly received a £3 million severance package. His departure was driven by non-executive directors amid criticism related to costly expansion into investment banking. Wanless also led NatWest’s card division that created the UK's debit card system, Switch, and managed the group prior to its acquisition by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

In 2002, Wanless conducted an assessment of future funding for the National Health Service commissioned by then Chancellor Gordon Brown, followed by an additional review for the King's Fund in 2007.

From 2000 until 2007, he held a non-executive directorship at Northern Rock, chairing its Audit and Risk committees. His period on the board became controversial following Northern Rock’s 2007 crisis, which stemmed from inadequate risk controls and culminated in a bank run that was only prevented through government guarantees.

Wanless faced intense scrutiny from Members of Parliament on the Commons Treasury Select Committee regarding Northern Rock’s failure. He stepped down in November 2007. Sir Derek passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2012 at age 64.

Affiliations

Sir Derek Wanless was granted the status of Freeman of the City of London, received a Knighthood during the 2005 New Year Honours, and earned honorary doctorates from Durham University (Doctor of Civil Law, 2005), Sunderland University (Honorary DBA, 2007), and Coventry University (2007).

The House of Commons Treasury Select Committee’s January 2008 report on Northern Rock’s collapse censured Wanless’s role as chairman of its Risk Committee. The report held the board—including Wanless—largely accountable for pursuing a high-risk funding model dependent on short- and medium-term wholesale funding, with insufficient risk mitigation and inadequate liquidity reserves. This approach left Northern Rock exposed when global capital markets froze in August 2007. The committee also highlighted failures by non-executive directors, including Wanless, to ensure adequate liquidity management and to curb excessive executive risk-taking.

Key publications

• 2007: Our Future Health Secured? A review of NHS funding and performance authored for the King's Fund
• 2006: Securing Good Health for Older People produced for the King's Fund in collaboration with the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at The London School of Economics
• 2004: Securing Good Health for the Whole Population prepared for HM Treasury
• 2002: Securing Our Future Health: Taking a Long-Term View commissioned by HM Treasury

See also

• Sir Brian Pearse, who served as chief executive of Midland Bank between 1991 and 1994