Canada appoints Jeremy Rudin as bank watchdog head

(Adds details on Canadian bank sector, background)

OTTAWA, June 13 (Reuters) - Jeremy Rudin, an assistant deputy minister at Canada's Department of Finance, has been named head of the country's banking watchdog, Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Friday.

Rudin will take over the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions on June 29 to begin a seven-year term, replacing Julie Dickson.

Rudin currently works in the financial sector policy branch of the finance department, a position in which he helped shape policy measures in response to the global financial crisis.

"He has extensive direct experience in the oversight of financial institutions, financial system stability and financial markets. He played an important role in Canada's response to the global financial crisis. These skills and knowledge will be an asset in this critical position," Oliver said in a statement.

Rudin joined the finance department in 1993.

He takes over the post amid a changing of the guard at the country's three largest banks. Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank will see new chief executives take over this year, while Bank of Nova Scotia replaced its top officer last year.

Dickson became head of OSFI in 2007, just before the financial crisis, which Canada's banks escaped relatively unscathed. She has since been implementing new global regulations designed to strengthen bank balance sheets for the Canadian banks.

Canada's big banks all currently boast capital levels well in excess of new Basel III requirements and well ahead of the Basel deadline of 2019.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp and Cameron French; Editing by Marguerita Choy and James Dalgleish)