Mark Carney is to replace Sir Mervyn King as the Bank of England’s new governor, in what is an historic and unprecedented appointment.
Mr Carney, who is currently the head of the Bank of Canada, is the first foreigner to take up this senior position, where responsibilities include contributing to and guiding national economic and monetary policy.
Chancellor George Osborne made the announcement, commenting that the 47-year-old was the “outstanding banker of his generation”.
“I am honoured to accept this important and demanding role, and to succeed Sir Mervyn King, with whom I have worked closely over these past five years and from whom I learned so much,” he said in a statement.
“This is a critical time for the British, European and global economies; a decisive period for reform of the global financial system including its leading financial centre, the City of London; and a crucial point in the Bank of England’s history as it accepts vital new responsibilities.”
Mr Carney comes with impeccable academic credentials, having studied economics at Harvard, which was followed up by a masters and doctorate at Oxford University.
His professional experience is equally impressive, including 13 years with the US investment bank Goldman Sachs and three years within the Canadian Department of Finance.
“I am delighted to welcome Mark Carney as my successor. He represents a new generation of leadership for the Bank of England, and is an outstanding choice to succeed me,” commented Sir Mervyn, who is retiring next summer.
“Since Mark became governor of the Bank of Canada, I have worked closely with him and admired his contributions to the world of central banking, in which he is widely respected.”
On the whole, reaction has largely been positive at the surprise choice. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that Mr Carney had a great record of tackling tough and complex challenges, while Katja Hall, chief policy director at the Confederation of British Industry, stated that his extensive experience in international financial regulation made him an ideal candidate.
“Perhaps one factor in Carney’s favour is the Canadian banks were very highly regulated before the credit crisis and accordingly the Canadian banking system is in good shape,” suggested Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec.
“Given that experience, that might have been a factor in swinging the job. One thing we would expect is the new governor sets about delegating responsibility very quickly given the enormity of the tasks that the Bank of England is taking on.”
Other candidates on the shortlist for the highly-coveted position included Sir John Vickers, chairman of the Independent Commission on Banking; Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority; Lord Burns, chairman of Santander UK; and the Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles.
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