Having announced his departure in December, he was named at the beginning of February as the first head of the UK’s Consumer Protection and Markets Authority.

The Financial Services Authority is to be split, with the Bank of England taking over bank regulation and the new CPMA being created. It will regulate the UK securities and personal finance markets.

Wheatley said he took pride in the HKSFC’s achievements during his six year tenure: “The Commission has taken in its stride the many challenges that confronted the financial markets and regulators, and we have been able to adopt a pragmatic and sensible approach in our regulation. I am also encouraged to see the work that we have done in tackling market misconduct.”

Wheatley was previously deputy chief executive of the London Stock Exchange and chairman of FTSE International.

He sits on the Standing Committee for Standards Implementation of the Financial Stability Board, as well as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ Technical Committee, chairing its task force on short selling.

During his time at the HKSFC, Wheatley found himself at the forefront of the global financial crisis.

While many regulators banned short selling at the height of market turmoil, Wheatley, in his role at Iosco, bucked the trend, continuing to argue that the practice was a legitimate market strategy.