London (AFP)

Andrew Bailey, current head of the British Markets Authority (FCA), was appointed governor of the Bank of England (BoE), a key institution to keep Britain's economy afloat in the Brexit storm, on Friday.

The 60-year-old former deputy governor of the Bank of England will take over from Mark Carney, who spent six years at the helm of the monetary institute, on March 16, Finance Minister Sajid Javid told reporters. a press conference.

Announcing "one of the most important decisions" coming to him, Mr. Javid explained that he had "no hesitation" in choosing Andrew Bailey who stood out "clearly": "He took the lead of (the FCA) at a difficult time and transformed it, putting the needs and interests of consumers first. "

Mr. Bailey will therefore have been preferred to the other finalists who had been mentioned for several months, including the patron of the prestigious great school London School of Economics, Minouche Shafik, former assistant to Mr. Carney, or Ben Broadbent, current assistant governor in charge of monetary policy.

Favorite of the race for months, his candidacy however suffered from several recent financial scandals in the United Kingdom - the most recent of which, the fall of the fund of the ex-star investor Neil Woodford -, which generated doubts about the FCA work.

According to the Financial Times, the candidates' views on Brexit will also have played a role, notably disqualifying Ms Shafik, critic of the exit from the EU.

- From the seraglio -

Despite criticism of the lack of diversity in the BoE, and statements by Mr. Carney calling for more women in finance, the choice therefore fell on a man of the seraglio, who spent most of his career at the Bank of England.

This graduate from Queen's College in Cambridge began as a researcher at the London School of Economics before joining the BoE in 1985. He has been the head of the FCA since 2016.

He had a key role to play during the financial crisis and the "Great Recession", during which he was responsible for the special operations of the monetary institute to solve problems in the banking sector.

He notably played a pivotal role in the government rescue of the Royal Bank of Scotland, telling in an interview with the Financial Times that his treasurer had come to see him in a state of great excitement in 2008 at the height of the crisis to ask him: "I need 25 billion pounds today. Can you do that? I said yes, I can."

BoE's new governor to take on heavy task of UK monetary policy when Prime Minister Boris Johnson promises to leave the European Union on January 31 as the UK economy slips , held back by three and a half years of a difficult Brexit process.

"It may have to raise interest rates", maintained this week by the central bank's monetary policy committee to 0.75%, "to more normal levels or risk having to fight the next economic downturn without lots of ammunition, "says Ruth Gregory, an economist at Capital Economics.

The institution expects growth for the last three months of the year at 0.1% compared to the third quarter, while it still expected 0.2% in November. Inflation currently at 1.5% remains below the 2% BoE target.

Finally, the new governor will have to "preserve the independence of the Bank in the face of growing risks of political interference," added Ms. Gregory. Mark Carney was praised by Sajid Javid for leading the BoE "with conviction, thoroughness and intelligence at one of the most difficult times in its history". It leaves an "honorable" record, said Ms. Gregory.

It has been criticized for having caught the market several times by surprise, abruptly announcing an imminent increase in the key rate to postpone it for several years. But he was praised for having reassured the markets constantly about the strength of the British financial system since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

At 54, he will now engage in the fight against global warming: after launching the climate resistance tests of financial institutions for 2021, he will become the new UN Special Envoy on the climate.

© 2019 AFP