Bank of Canada Taps Regulator as Macklem’s New Top Deputy

(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Canada named Carolyn Rogers as its senior deputy governor, filling its no. 2 position with a bank regulator in a clear signal that it’s seeking to bulk up financial markets expertise within its top ranks.

Rogers, who will be the first non-economist to hold the job in the modern era, takes over the role on Dec. 15, the bank said Monday in a joint announcement with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. The post has been vacant since last December, when Carolyn Wilkins stepped down. The six-person, interest rate-setting council has been without a woman since then.

The move represents a departure for the central bank on another front: it’s rare for the second-highest-ranking position to go to an outsider.

“I am delighted that Carolyn Rogers will be joining our team,” Governor Tiff Macklem said in a statement. “Her domestic and international experience will bring a diverse perspective to the Bank.”

Rogers currently serves as secretary general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and has worked at Canada’s banking regulator -- the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions -- where she was assistant superintendent. She’s also been a financial sector regulator in British Columbia. She holds an Masters in Business Administration from Queen’s University, and is a chartered professional accountant.

For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the move is the last move in a broad shakeup at the top ranks of key economic portfolios in government. This year, Freeland has announced new heads at Canada’s banking regulator and housing agency, while appointing Michael Sabia -- a corporate leader -- as her No. 2 at the finance department late last year.

The appointment comes at a crucial time for the Ottawa-based central bank. Macklem is beginning to wind down the nation’s first-ever quantitative easing program, and is in the homestretch of renewing its five-year inflation mandate agreement with the government, a process Wilkins was leading.

“Rogers’ expertise with regards to the Canadian and global financial systems will complement Governor Macklem’s macroeconomic and monetary policy background,” Royce Mendes, an economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said in a report to investors. “The appointment is unlikely to change the overall trajectory of Canadian monetary policy.”

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