Rapid responses
Bank multi-tasking
[Re: Mark Carney’s Canadian legacy has still not weathered the test of time, yesterday]
Mark Carney’s appointment as the new governor of the Bank of England has been welcomed with open arms. Indeed, he appears to be the strongest candidate for the job. Needless to say, expectations are extremely high. The Bank requires a leader who can deliver simultaneously against multiple agendas: “rescuing” the UK economy, reforming the Bank of England itself, heading up the Monetary Policy Committee and taking on increased regulatory responsibility for the financial industry in Britain. Ultimately, these different aspects of the role are each huge challenges in themselves and call for very different characteristics. And so, we must ask ourselves whether one man can reasonably be asked to be chief economist, a convincing and skillful leader, an agent of structural and cultural change, and point-person for the Bank’s increasing remit for regulation and banking supervision? This role is too broad to fit into the average working week. Perhaps Carney recognised this himself when he earlier ruled himself out of the running for the governorship. Like an eagerly anticipated football managerial appointment, he may subsequently be viewed as having failed if he does not manage to deliver against all four agendas. This is particularly true when Sir Mervyn King arguably only delivered against one.
Graeme Yell, director for financial services at Hay Group
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TOP TWEETS
Charging 45p per unit of alcohol will make little difference to those who abuse it. They’ll just have less spare money.
@SteelMarshian
Minimum alcohol prices are stupid. Cigarettes are £7.50 a packet and people still smoke them. It’s just a stunt.
@gus1944gus
On the subject of freedom, can we stop the government interfering in prices? Minimum alcohol pricing is an unfair idea.
@RyanCPS
I’m not pleased about alcohol prices. What about moderate drinkers who are now going to be out of pocket because of drunks?
@OfficialGDovez