Former Equitable Life chief executive Christopher Headdon is ‘not fit or proper to hold a significant management role at a regulated firm’, the FSA said.
It has banned Headdon from holding such a role until May 2010.
In addition to being Equitable Life chief executive, Headdon was the company’s appointed actuary.
The prohibition is a result of Headdon’s failure to disclose a side letter to the FSA that raised questions about the true value of a reinsurance contract entered into by Equitable Life Assurance Society, said the FSA.
FSA director of enforcement Andrew Procter said: “Mr Headdon should have provided information to the FSA about the side letter to the reinsurance contract and as a result of his failure to do so the FSA has concluded that he is not fit and proper.
“The FSA sets high standards by which we judge senior management. This includes the requirement that individuals deal with the FSA in an open and co-operative way.
“Where behaviour falls below our high standards we will take the necessary action to make sure customers are protected and markets properly informed.
The FSA said it should have been informed about the side letter and Headdon's failure to do so was not a matter of inadvertence but followed from a decision on his part.
Headdon also prepared and signed the annual regulatory returns for Equitable without any qualification in respect of the side letter, it said.
Headdon has subsequently accepted that it was reasonable for the FSA to expect to be made aware of the full extent of any agreement reached between Equitable and IRECO, including any aspects of the agreement set out in a separate document, added the FSA.
