FCA Names Sabina Saini and Darine Obeid to International Financial Services Roles

FCA Names Sabina Saini and Darine Obeid to International Financial Services Roles

(IN BRIEF) The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Sabina Saini and Darine Obeid as new financial services attachés for India and the United Arab Emirates, expanding its international presence beyond existing attachés in Washington DC, Brussels and Singapore, as well as its broader Asia-Pacific activity. Saini, who began on 10 August 2026, will be based at the British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai, while Obeid, who starts on 31 August 2026, will be based at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The FCA said the appointments will support international cooperation, exports and investment into the UK, while Ruairí O’Connell OBE, Director, International, said the new roles will advance UK interests in financial services policy and deepen cooperation with counterparts in India and the Gulf. Saini brings nearly 20 years of experience in financial regulation, audit and banking, including work at the FCA and the Bank of England, while Obeid has more than a decade of FCA experience across retail banking, wholesale banking, fintech, financial crime, operational resilience, AI and customer outcomes.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 10-Aug-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — The Financial Conduct Authority, known as the FCA, has appointed Sabina Saini and Darine Obeid as its new financial services attachés for India and the United Arab Emirates.

Sabina Saini will be based at the British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai, while Darine Obeid will be based at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The appointments expand the FCA’s global presence and add to its existing international network of attachés in Washington DC, Brussels and Singapore, as well as its broader activity across the Asia-Pacific region.

The FCA said the expanded network will support international cooperation, exports and investment into the United Kingdom.

Ruairí O’Connell OBE, Director, International at the FCA, said the new financial services attachés in India and the UAE will advance the UK’s interests in financial services policy and help drive investment into the UK’s open market.

He said the FCA’s global network is vital to delivering all parts of the regulator’s strategy.

O’Connell added that, just as the UK is a global financial services centre, the FCA is a globally connected regulator and international leader in financial regulation.

He said the new presence will help the FCA and its counterparts in India and the Gulf deepen cooperation.

Sabina Saini began her new role on 10 August 2026.

Darine Obeid is due to start on 31 August 2026.

Sabina Saini biography

Sabina Saini previously served as a manager at the FCA, where she led work on the UK’s critical third parties regime and wider policy covering operational risk and resilience.

She has just under 20 years of experience across financial regulation, audit and banking, with a focus on prudential supervision and risk.

Before joining the FCA in 2024, Saini spent more than eight years at the Bank of England, working across resolution policy, supervision and audit.

Darine Obeid biography

Darine Obeid has spent more than a decade at the FCA, specialising in supervision across retail banking, wholesale banking and fintech.

She has led high-profile engagement in areas including financial crime, operational resilience, artificial intelligence and customer outcomes.

Notes to editors

The FCA said further information on its role as a global regulator is set out in the FCA strategy 2025 to 2030.

The regulator also noted that boosting exports and inward investment is a core FCA growth priority, as outlined in its letter to the Prime Minister.

On 11 February 2026, the FCA signed an Exchange of Letters with the International Financial Services Centres Authority, known as IFSCA, in India.

Through the new appointments, the FCA is strengthening its international regulatory engagement and expanding its capacity to support financial services cooperation with India, the UAE and wider global markets.

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SOURCE: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)