LME Group General Counsel Tom Hine to step down

LONDON (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange said on Tuesday its General Counsel and head of enforcement Tom Hine will step down at the end of January after 17 years at the exchange.

"From September 2022 until the start of 2023, the LME Group legal management team temporarily assumed Tom’s overarching responsibilities while he undertook a period of extended leave, the exchange said in a release.

"This management structure will remain in place, with any further changes communicated to the market at the appropriate time."

Hine said: "I have taken the difficult decision to move on from the LME with the intention of setting up my own business."

Earlier this month the exchange said Gay Huey Evans will step down as LME chair, but declined to comment on whether it was due to regulatory reviews into the nickel market events in March.

The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority in April launched a sweeping probe into how the LME suspended chaotic nickel trading on March 8 after prices doubled to a record above $100,000 a tonne in a few hours.

Regulators said the episode underlined questions about the transparency of the 145-year-old LME and they would determine if further action should be taken.

(Reporting by Pratima Desai; editing by Kirsten Donovan)