By Alexander Smith and Lauren Tara LaCapra
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) Group PLC (L:RBS) is set to confirm the appointment of Howard Davies as its new chairman on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Davies, a former top UK regulator who serves as an independent director on the board of Morgan Stanley (N:MS) is set to be named as the replacement for Philip Hampton when the British bank announces its results on Thursday morning.
Davies, who was Chairman of the UK banking regulator the Financial Services Authority from 1997 to 2003, is expected to step down from the Morgan Stanley board when he takes up the RBS job, two other sources with knowledge of the situation said.
Hampton is due to take over as deputy chairman of drugs group GlaxoSmithKline PLC (L:GSK) on April 1 and become Chairman later this year.
The sources did not say exactly when Davies would become RBS chairman. RBS declined to comment, while Davies could not immediately be reached for comment.