Merv: stability, not money, is my motivation
WITH all the talk of who will succeed Sir Mervyn King at the Bank of England (kicked off by this paper last week), the governor is wasting no time in setting up things for his retirement next year.
A source gets in touch to let The Capitalist know that Merv was spotted strolling along the glass corridors of the FSA yesterday, where he dropped by to let the incoming bean-counters of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) know who’s boss.
Among his handy tips for how to get along in the staid – and lower-paid – atmosphere of Threadneedle Street, which will rule the PRA once the FSA is dismantled, was an inspirational call to arms: regulators should not be motivated by financial rewards, he told the assembled number crunchers, but by the lofty goal of financial stability.
At least he’s leading by example: Sir Merv generously refused a £100,000 pay rise in 2008, which was lucky, because his decision was shortly followed by the near-collapse of the entire financial system.
Our spy reports that King’s FSA audience was less than impressed.
“The reaction was that it’s easy for Merv to say that on his salary,” said our source of the £300,000-a-year guv’nor. Little wonder King’s against bonuses – none of his pay is performance-related.