(Bloomberg) -- Bank of England Governor Mark Carney dodged the question of whether he’d be interested in becoming the next head of the International Monetary Fund.

“I wouldn’t mind doing something after I leave” the BOE at the end of January, “but I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” Carney said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 on Friday. “There are very many highly qualified people around the world who can serve that role” of IMF chief.

Since Christine Lagarde was appointed the next president of the European Central Bank, finance ministers in Europe have been looking for a replacement for her at the IMF. They’ve narrowed it down to a shortlist that Carney’s not on, and are expected to chose a candidate Friday.

Europe traditionally chooses one of their own for the IMF job, which is based in Washington, while the U.S. traditionally appoints the head of the World Bank in Paris. Carney is Canadian, though he also has Irish and U.K. passports.

When pressed to name someone who he thinks should be the next BOE governor, Carney said “George Osborne,” the former chancellor who named him the first foreign-born U.K. central bank governor. “That’s a joke,” he quickly added.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Swint in London at bswint@bloomberg.net;Olivia Konotey-Ahulu in London at okonoteyahul@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, David Goodman, Zoe Schneeweiss

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