BOE Governor Job a Poisoned Chalice, Ex-Policy Maker Weale Says

(Bloomberg) -- The job of Bank of England governor could be considered a “poisoned chalice” by some possible candidates and finding a pro-Brexit economist to fill the role could be a challenge, according to former policy maker Martin Weale.

“If following the appointment of the Cabinet, the chancellor wants someone who believes that Brexit is going to be wonderful, my guess is that’s going to give him a fairly short shortlist,” Weale, who served on the Monetary Policy Committee from 2010 to 2016 and is now a professor at King’s College London, said in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program.

Mark Carney is set to step down as governor at the end of January, after extending his tenure twice to lend stability while Britain leaves the European Union. Interviews have started and newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid is expected to announce the decision in the autumn.

An early favorite to replace Carney, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, has said he didn’t apply, indicating that the political difficulties posed by Brexit were the reason. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen also didn’t apply, a person familiar with the matter said last week. Weale told the BBC he had not sought the job either.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson, Brian Swint

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.