Strong field lines up to lead central bank
Reserve Bank chairman Arthur Grimes or former central bank deputy Murray Sherwin could be strong contenders to replace governor Alan Bollard who will step down later this year, according to former governor Don Brash.
But there is likely to be a strong field to take on the $600,000-a-year job that Bollard, 60, is leaving after 10 years.
Arguably the most powerful post in the New Zealand economy, the governor has sole responsibility for setting interest rates. The central bank also plays a much bigger role in the supervision of the banking sector than in the 1990s, when its key role was taming inflation.
Other leading candidates are likely to include existing Reserve Bank deputy governor Grant Spencer, who is seen as a ‘‘strong contender’’, according to NZIER principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub. Another bank source agreed Spencer was in a good position to be governor given his role in charge of prudential oversight. The assistant governor, John Mcdermott, was also expected to be a candidate. Both declined to comment yesterday.
Another candidate is likely to be former head of economics at the Reserve Bank, David Archer, now at Basel’s Bank for International Settlements.
Former Reserve Bank governor Don Brash, who led the bank for almost 14 years, said Grimes, though chairman of the board, ‘‘could equally be governor and is a very competent monetary policy economist indeed’’.
The board was likely to want to consider Grimes ‘‘as one of the possibilities’’, Brash said, while Sherwin could also be a candidate.