Downing Street Says » Bank of England Governor

Asked if it was the Prime Minister’s intention to reappoint the Governor of the Bank of England, the PMS said that the Governor’s appointment expired in June of next year and that there would have to be a process in advance of that; this was not something that needed to be considered at this moment. As was said this morning, the Prime Minister thought that Mervyn King had been a first-rate Governor of the Bank of England.

Put that the normal procedure was that the appointment of the Governor of the Bank of England was decided before Christmas, the PMS said that that was not the case.

Put that the Bank of England thought that the appointment would be made before Christmas and asked if there was any reason why the decision had been left till early next year, the PMS said that we had not decided to do anything; the appointment expired in June of next year and a decision would be taken in advance of June.

Asked if there was any guidance as to when a decision would be made, the PMS said he would not expect anything to happen this year.

Put again that the normal procedure was that an appointment was made before Christmas and asked if he could point to an occasion when the Governor had not been appointed at that time, the PMS said that he did not recognise that as the normal procedure; the previous Governor was appointed in the Pre Budget Report 2002, ahead of the June 2003 appointment, which was considered at the time to be exceptionally early and people were surprised by how early that appointment was made, but he would not want to suggest that that set any sort of precedent.

Asked if the Prime Minister was comfortable about potentially going into a financial downturn over the next 12 months with Mervyn King as the Governor, the PMS repeated that the Prime Minister believed that Mervyn King was a first-rate Governor of the Bank of England and had worked with him for many years. The PMS went on to say that he would not announce a decision on who the Governor of the Bank of England will be after June as that was a decision for the Queen, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to take at the time. He repeated that the Prime Minister believed Mervyn King to be a first-rate Governor of the Bank of England.

Asked repeatedly if there was any reason not to make a decision now due to the suggested rift between the Treasury and the Bank of England, the PMS said that both the Treasury and the Bank of England had been denying any suggestion of a rift between them. The Governor’s term did not expire until June next year and a decision would be taken in advance of that. He again repeated that the Prime Minister believed that the Governor had been a first-rate Governor of the Bank of England.

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» Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Bank of England Governor

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