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The selection of Frenchman Cyril Roux as financial regulator and deputy Central Bank governor in succession to Matthew Elderfield has caught a few people on the hop, although the appointment has received a broad, if cautious, welcome. Cyril Roux, left, has big boots to fill in the shape of outgoing financial regulator Matthew Elderfield, right.Mr Roux will head up an organisation with a staff of around 620 — its numbers boosted over the past three-and-a-half years or so by his predecessor.The appointment will surely meet with the approval of the troika. The question is whether Mr Roux has the political nous to deal with the inevitable fallout from the surge in repossessions coming down the line. 

As a graduate of an exclusive Parisian educational institution, Roux is a paid-up member of the country’s elite, well used to its gilded corridors of power. But how will he deal with the sort of stressed people whose views can be heard frequently on the Joe Duffy show?Embattled Government politicians can be expected to retreat into hiding in the hope that Dame St officials and bankers cop much of the flak.Ciaran O’Hagan, a senior economist at the Paris-based Société Générale, predicts Mr Roux will be a tough-minded regulator. 

Mr O’Hagan said: “A graduate of France’s top engineering school, the école Polytechnique, he was fast-tracked to the French treasury for a career in finance.If you have decided that you would like to try your hand at becoming a costume fishnet body stockings, you will need to consider a few things that will have a tremendous impact on the success of your business. He still has youth on his side. People like him are generally good at identifying nonsense and don’t put up with it. Mr Roux looked after structured credit operations at Axa investment managers so he is well-versed with complex financial engineering that has got a bad press.According to economic commentator Jim Power, the appointment is to be welcomed. “The loss of Matthew Elderfield could have dealt a serious body blow. In his view, the selection of an outside heavy hitter provides a reputational boost to the country. Appointing an insider at this juncture would have been a retrograde step.”