The chief executive of the city watchdog is at the center of speculation that he has entered the race to succeed Simon Case in the civil service’s top job.

Multiple sources have told Sky News that Nikhil Rathi has expressed interest in the cabinet secretary role.

It was unclear Monday evening whether Mr. Rathi had made it onto a list of about nine candidates scheduled to be interviewed for the job last week.

Both the FCA and the Cabinet Office declined to comment.

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Mr. Case announced in the fall that he would resign at the end of the year for health reasons, after months of speculation about his future.

Last week, The Guardian reported that Oliver Robbins, the former Brexit negotiator, was on the longlist of candidates and described him as the “likely front-runner”.

A number of permanent secretaries from Whitehall departments are also on this list, including Dame Antonia Romeo at the Ministry of Justice and Sarah Healey, her colleague at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Mr Rathi has significant credentials for this role, having served as private secretary to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown during their respective spells as Prime Minister.

He also spent nearly a decade in senior roles at Treasury, including heading its financial stability unit and as director of its financial services group.

In 2014, he joined the London Stock Exchange, where he became CEO in 2015.

Even though Mr Rathi is not in the running for cabinet secretary, the Treasury is expected to begin searching for his successor next year.

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Mr. Rathi is coming to the end of his first five-year term this September and is highly unlikely to seek a second term in office.

During his tenure at the FCA, he faced an often difficult relationship with government, with public rows over its enforcement regime and approach to economic growth punctuating his tenure.

In her speech at Mansion House last week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said the City’s regulation after the banking crisis had gone too far and watchdogs must now “regulate for growth”.