Donnery throws hat in the ring to be top ECB regulator
DEPUTY Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Sharon Donnery has officially put herself forward as a candidate to become chair of the European Central Bank’s powerful Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) Board.
The SSM oversees the Euro Area’s big banks. It was set up after the crash and straddles the ECB and national supervisory authorities, including the Central Bank here.
The Department of Finance confirmed the move. “Minister [Paschal] Donohoe has been notified of Ms Donnery’s application for the post of chair of the Single Supervisory Board at the European Central Bank. Ms Donnery is an exceptional candidate and Minister Donohoe is pleased to have a person of her stature going forward for the role.”
As well as her role at the Central Bank, Sharon Donnery has led an ECB taskforce on non-performing loans, which has pressed banks to accelerate the clear up of bad debt.
Applications for the SSM job closed on Friday. Unlike the Presidency of the ECB, where candidates are nominated by their government, those seeking to head the SSM apply in their own right.
Politics will still play a role, and the ECB and European Parliament are understood to favour appointing a woman because of the wider gender imbalance at the top of the ECB.
The SSM is already led by a woman, Daniele Nouy, whose term ends on December 31. As well as Ms Donnery, potential successors to Ms Nouy include Portugal’s Elisa Ferreira. Filling senior jobs at the ECB involves intense horse-trading among EU member states and among the EU institutions.
Top EU jobs due to change hands over the coming 18 months include presidencies of the ECB, the European Commission and European Council.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported this week to be focused on securing the European Commission presidency for a German candidate, rather than backing German central bank boss Jens Weidmann to succeed Mario Draghi at the ECB.
At the start of the year, the Irish Government nominated Central Bank Governor Philip Lane to become vice president of the ECB, but withdrew the nomination once it became clear that Spain’s Luis de Guindos would get the job.
Prof Lane may be nominated as ECB chief economist next year instead, but that would be a stretch if Ms Donnery secures the SSM role in the interim.
‘Mr Donohoe is pleased a person of her stature is going for the role’