London: The UK government on Wednesday formally launched its hunt for a new Bank of England Governor, a post for which former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan has been widely named as among the contenders. UK Chancellor Philip Hammond told the House of Commons Treasury Committee that it was important the person who took over from current Governor Mark Carney at the end of his term in January 2020 is equally internationally respected.
“It is very important to have someone, not only who can do a first-class job at home, but someone who commands respect in the international arena,” said the Cabinet minister in charge of the appointment as part of a wider panel of civil servants.
While Rajan has not been officially confirmed as being in the running for the 480,000 pounds a year job, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been one of the names touted for the post in the UK media for many months now.
The 56-year-old, now based at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, was asked about his interest in the job during a UK visit last month as part of a tour for his latest book ‘The Third Pillar’ but had declined to comment. “Rajan certainly has the leadership experience needed. He is also a top economist, who warned in 2005 that a financial crisis was looming,” notes the Guardian as part of an analysis of the potential candidates. “He has spent recent weeks publicising his recent book, which talks about renewing a broken capitalist model. It offers remedies that fit with Hammond’s preference for greater competition at all levels of the economy,” it notes.
