The atmosphere at the next family gathering at Kettlethorpe Hall in Lincolnshire may be a little strained, particularly between siblings Charlotte and Quintin.
As deputy governor of the Bank of England, Charlotte Hogg is one of the most powerful women in the City and is regularly talked about as a successor to Mark Carney. Her younger brother, Quintin, meanwhile, has a senior role at Barclays, as director of group strategy.
So far, so impressive. The problem is, Charlotte failed to disclose this potential conflict of interest to the bank when she became its chief operating officer in 2013, putting her in direct contravention of Threadneedle Street’s internal code of conduct.
Worse still, when Hogg appeared before MPs on the Treasury committee just last week, to confirm her appointment as deputy governor, she told them she had already made full disclosure to the bank.
All potential conflicts of interest had been declared, she said, insisting that she was fully compliant with the bank’s codes of conduct – because she had helped write them.
In fact, no formal disclosure had been made to the bank, something Hogg appears to have realised only after checking Threadneedle Street’s records last week.
Memory lapse
Describing her somewhat surprising memory lapse as an “oversight” Hogg made a written apology to the committee in which she said she took “full responsibility” for the mistake.
Her explanation failed to satisfy MPs, who just happened yesterday to be grilling senior Bank of England officials over the inner workings of Threadneedle Street. The session was dominated by Hogg’s memory lapse, with MP John Mann calling for her resignation, just a week after taking up the post.
It was simply “incredible”, he said, that such a senior person at the bank had behaved in such a manner. “Last week Charlotte Hogg proudly told this committee that she actually wrote the bank’s code of conduct which she has now admitted to repeatedly breaking.”
He added: “This is simply a question of standards in public life and in this regard she has failed and must resign.”
It’s certainly a blot on Charlotte’s otherwise glittering career. She first joined the Bank of England as a graduate trainee, and went on to work at the McKinsey management consultancy, investment bank Morgan Stanley and Santander.
And she’s certainly well connected, coming from one of Britain’s most distinguished political dynasties. That led to some criticism when she was first appointed chief operating officer, with John Mann citing it as evidence that the “old boys and girls network” is still flourishing.
Both her grandfather and great grandfather served as lord chancellors and father Douglas, the third Viscount Hailsham, was a former Conservative cabinet member.
After a distinguished career in journalism, her mother Sarah was the first woman to chair a FTSE 100 company, and headed 10 Downing Street’s policy unit under John Major. She now sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords. Both parents hold peerages in their own right.
The Grade-II-listed Hogg family pile is pretty famous too – Kettlethorpe Hall hit the front pages eight years ago, at the time of the scandal over MPs’ expenses, when it emerged that Douglas had claimed £2,115 from taxpayers to have the moat cleared, along with bills for piano tuning and fixing the stable lights.
Judging by the rather complacent performance of its senior officials yesterday, the bank does not appear to appreciate the gravity of its deputy governor’s lapses.
‘Terribly unfortunate’
Giving every impression he’d just teleported from the 18th century, Bradley Fried, the deputy chairman of the court of the Bank of England (effectively, its board of directors) told MPs it was all “terribly unfortunate”.
There had been no conflicts of interest between Charlotte and Quintin, he said. “I definitely don’t believe it’s a hanging offence. It warrants grumpiness.”
It also emerged that other senior central bank staff may also have broken its code of conduct. A number of them have apparently updated their declarations in recent days, including one who informed the bank that his daughter is a political journalist.
Anthony Habgood, who chairs the bank’s court, was unable to say how many breaches of the code there had been and seemed somewhat vague on what sanctions could be taken.
Asked why Hogg had failed to declare her brother’s role when she was made chief operating officer almost four years ago, Habgood said: “I think she just did not consider that her brother’s role was important enough to create a conflict.”
Ouch. That may be one for brother and sister to discuss further when they next meet up. Fiona Walsh is business editor of theguardian.com
