Andrew Bailey Picked As Next Bank of England Governor: FT

With outgoing BOE governor and former Goldman Sachs partner Mark Carney on his merry way to become the UN’s special envoy for climate action and finance (where he will collect a $1 salary) replacing Michael Bloomberg in the part time pro bono climate action role, moments ago the FT reported that Andrew Bailey, ironically enough head of the Financial Conduct Authority, has been selected as the new governor of the Bank of England, with the official appointment to be announced as early as Friday. We say ironically, because just yesterday we learned that the BOE was inadvertently leaking inside info via a “hacked” audio stream that was going to clients of a audio-delivery company, which according to the WSJ may be Statisma.

According to the FT, Bailey is a former deputy governor of the bank and has long been seen as a highly qualified domestic candidate. However, his chances appeared to have been dented by a series of financial scandals in the past year where questions were raised over the effectiveness of the FCA as a regulator, especially now when it comes to the Bank of England itself.

Bailey will take over from Mark Carney, the Canadian incumbent, at the start of February becoming the 121st governor of Britain’s central bank. “He inherits a central bank in testing economic times with monetary policy close to the limits of its effectiveness and the new government seeking to boost the economy with a massive expansion of infrastructure spending.”

The two other candidates, Minouche Shafik, director of the London School of Economics, and the “dark horse” candidate, Kevin Warsh, a former member of the US Federal Reserve’s board of governors, were ruled out earlier this week the FT’s sources report. Warsh is a friend of George Osborne, the former chancellor, who stunned the financial world in 2012 when he appointed Carney to the BoE.

Meanwhile, Gerard Lyons, previously Boris Johnson’s economic adviser as London mayor, had not performed well in interview and had been deemed not to meet the requirements of the job description.

The appointment of the next governor has been a protracted process overshadowed by Brexit and the change of leadership of the Conservative party and a new chancellor in Sajid Javid. Javid is preparing to announce the new governor, with the news expected on Friday.

Sources close to the process indicated that the potential candidates had been vetted on the basis of past statements and whether they were compatible with the directions of the new government in a job where the BoE and government have to work in alignment on many issues.

For example, “Shafik was rejected partly as the result of her critical views on Brexit. Those close to the process said candidates’ positions on the issue were a key factor in the process.”

The successful candidate does not need to be approved by MPs on the Treasury select committee, but Javid has reassured the committee that any appointment will be made in time to ensure they would be able to hold a hearing with the appointed person before the new term of office is set to start in February 2020.

Finally, for those wondering, no, Andrew Bailey has never worked at Goldman, perhaps a testament to the waning influence of the bank which once upon a time was an incubator of central bankers around the globe.