Former GFXC Chair and RBA Deputy Governor Debelle Exits Central Bank

The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced that deputy governor Guy Debelle is leaving the central bank after 25 years to take up the role of chief financial officer of Fortescue Future Industries, the green energy and product arm of Fortescue Mining.

Aside from his long career at the Australian central bank, Debelle has been a significant figure in the rebuilding of the FX industry’s reputation since the chat room scandal first broke. He was chair of the committee that studied, and then recommended changes to, the London WMR 4pm benchmark fix, leading to the calculation window being widened to five minutes from one in 2015.

Even more importantly for the industry, Debelle then chaired the FX Working Group established by the Bank for International Settlements’ Markets Committee. This committee investigated and drove the work for the publication of the initial version of the FX Global Code in 2017.

Debelle then stepped aside as the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) was established to manage and maintain the Code, but returned to the scene in 2019 when he was elected chair of the GFXC. The appointment was important as the industry was continuing to debate (often heatedly) the appropriate use of last look and pre-hedging, two of the trickiest issues in the Code from inception. Under Debelle’s leadership a consensus was arrived at that enabled the GFXC to issue last year’s Further Guidance documents on last look and pre-hedging, including what remains a big, and ongoing, shift, to zero hold times by LPs.

In a statement, RBA Governor Philip Lowe says, “I would like to thank Guy for his outstanding service to the RBA over many years. He has made major contributions to monetary policy, to financial market operations and to the management of the bank. Guy has been a great colleague and I wish him all the best in his new position.”

Debelle adds, “‘I am honoured and privileged to have worked at the bank for the past 25 years and contributed to improving the welfare of the Australian people. The bank is a great institution which serves Australia well, including most recently through the policy response to COVID which has helped the country come through the crisis in a strong position. I have often spoken about the opportunities for business to help address climate change. This new position gives me the opportunity to make a significant contribution in this area.”