LONDON: The early UK election in December is creating confusion in the Treasury’s search for a new Bank of England governor.
While the appointment of Mark Carney’s successor has been officially delayed, last week saw a frenzy of speculation about who will get the job. Several reports on the government’s favorites were met on Friday with news that there is no preferred candidate at this time.
The confusion sums up what has thus far been a chaotic appointment process, continually delayed by Brexit. Chancellor Sajid Javid had planned to make an announcement in the autumn.
Now he won’t do so until after the December. 12 ballot – and that’s assuming the current government is re-elected. A new administration, political wrangling in the wake of results, and the proximity to the Christmas and New Year holidays could all mean it’s delayed still further.
“It’s been a bit of a shambolic process,” said Peter Dixon, global equities economist at Commerzbank AG. “It’s starting to look at bit tight.” After Carney twice extended his term to help steer the economy through Brexit, the search resumed five months ago under then-Chancellor Philip Hammond. A panel of officials held interviews and prepared a shortlist, but that could be discarded.
Leaving it until December could prove particularly problematic given Britain is also set to leave the European Union on January 31. That’s also Carney’s last day -- leaving his successor to deal with the economic consequences of a potentially messy departure with little time to prepare.
It’s also possible that Carney could be asked to extend his term for a third time. In the absence of an announcement, here are some of the people that have been mentioned as potential successors.
The former BoE deputy governor and now director of the London School of Economics is the UK government’s favored candidate to take over the top job, according to the BBC. If appointed, she would be first woman to lead the institution in its over three-century history.
Shafik trained as an economist, obtaining a doctorate from Oxford University, and became the youngest vice president in the history of the World Bank at the age of 36. She’s taught at both Georgetown University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and also served as the UK’s Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Development.
Another former deputy governor, Tucker, has also also drawing speculation in recent days after ITV’s Political Editor Robert Peston tweeted that he was in the frame. After working at the BoE for over 30 years, Tucker was widely considered front runner to replace Mervyn King in 2013, but was pipped to the post by surprise contender Carney after becoming embroiled in the Libor fixing scandal. Since then he’s been teaching at Harvard and chaired the Systemic Risk Council.
Pro-Brexit candidates With Brexit taking center stage in the election, it’s thought that Johnson and Javid could opt to mark Britain’s departure by installing a new governor with a more optimistic view of the UK’s prospects outside the European Union. This would risk politicizing the central bank though, something Javid may be keen to avoid.
