(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said he hopes the Spanish government will appoint a new central bank chief by September.
Madrid has “indicated very clearly that before the next meeting, they will appoint someone,” but “this is a prerogative of the government,” Guindos told reporters in Frankfurt on Thursday. “The only thing that here we recommend” is that “they have to be knowledgeable in terms of economics, finance, banking and I hope that will be the case.”
Guindos was Spain’s finance minister before joining the ECB in 2018. The country’s central bank’s top job has been vacant since early June, when Pablo Hernandez de Cos’s term ended, with Deputy Governor Margarita Delgado standing in. Still, as acting chief, she only gets to participate, but doesn’t have a vote — and her own tenure finishes in September.
Earlier this week, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said the Spanish government has no urgency on the matter, but mentioned Sept. 11 — one day before the ECB’s next monetary policy decision — as a goal to make the appointment.
Spain’s executive is trying to negotiate the choice of the governor and deputy governor with the opposition People’s Party — in line with the country’s political tradition. Still, the administration has the power to fill the posts even it fails to reach an agreement.
--With assistance from Alexander Weber, Jana Randow, Mark Schroers, Andrew Langley, Craig Stirling, Jennifer Duggan, William Horobin, Marilen Martin, Celine Imensek and Chiara Albanese.
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