People: New chief economist at ADB; BoE insurance director departs

Philippines: Shang-Jin Wei joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as chief economist today, where he will become the bank's spokesperson on economic issues.

Wei, born in China and a national of the United States, is also a professor of finance and economics at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business in New York.

Prior to joining Columbia University, Wei was an assistant director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he led the fund's policy research. He also has experience at the World Bank.

United Kingdom: The Bank of England (BoE) today announced the departure of Julian Adams, the BoE's executive director for insurance supervision, who is leaving to join Prudential plc – a life insurance company – as group regulatory director.

The BoE said Adams would "begin his new post in early 2015, after his post-employment cooling off period expires" and Paul Fisher, deputy head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, would take over his responsibilities until a successor is appointed.

Governor Mark Carney praised Adams for his "distinguished career in public service" and thanked him for his "significant contributions to this institution and the global regulatory community more broadly."

Hong Kong: HSBC has named Rami Hayek as a managing director in its financial institutions group, where he will become the bank's point man for central banks in the Asia Pacific.

Hayek joins from Swiss bank UBS, where he was head of client coverage in the region. He has also served as a managing director at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Hayek will, in addition to dealing with central banks and reserve management clients, become co-head of soveriegn wealth and public funds coverage in the region.

Nigeria: The deputy governor for economic policy at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sarah Alade, was named chair of the Financial Market Dealers Quotation (FMDQ) – an over-the-counter market securities exchange – board of directors this week.

According to local reports Alade was nominated at the FMDQ's annual general meeting last week, while she appears listed as chairman on the organisation's website. Alade briefly served as acting governor at the central bank earlier this year when Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was exiled.