Angela Knight to step down as BBA chief Ms Knight is leaving after five turbulent years in the job but will stay until a successor is found. A former Tory MP and minister, she took charge at the banking lobby group in April 2007 - just four months before the credit crunch struck and five months before the run on Northern Rock. The following year, she was caught at the centre of the UK's worst financial crisis in almost 100 years. A formidable operator, she became the main spokesman for the industry as Britain's bank bosses sharply reduced their public appearances in the wake of both the crisis and public relations fall-out that followed - taking a battering on behalf of the industry at times. She also had to manage the often conflicting positions of the banks as a raft of new regulations were brought in - with largely domestic operators in need of a slightly different agenda to those with big foreign positions. Ms Knight, 61, said: "I have been at the British Bankers" Association at a time of extraordinary difficulty and during a crisis of a magnitude that few if any have seen before or expected. The BBA has played a strong part throughout this challenging period and has helped the industry it represents with the significant changes to regulation and legislation required. Ms Knight joined the BBA after a highly successful nine-year stint as chief executive of the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers, where she represented the interests of private shareholders. She fought a highly public and successful battle with Royal Dutch Shell in 2005 over conditions that treated private shareholders less favourably than major institutions. Before becoming an effective lobbyist, Ms Knight was MP for Erewash, becoming Economic Secretary to the Treasury between 1995 and 1997 under Chancellor Ken Clarke. She is a non-executive director at Brewin Dolphin and Tullett Prebon, and a board member of the Financial Skills Partnership. Marcus Agius, chairman of both the BBA and Barclays, said: "I would like to pay tribute to Angela Knight's extraordinary leadership and energy. She has piloted the British Bankers" Association - and the industry - with skill and determination through turbulent times and leaves the organisation strengthened and well placed to respond to the challenges ahead."