ECB Board’s Successor to Panetta Will Be Discussed This Month

Jorge Valero and Alonso Soto
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Candidates for the soon-to-be-vacant spot on the European Central Bank’s Executive Board must be proposed by Aug. 30 for discussion a day later by some of the region’s top civil servants, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Possible replacements for Fabio Panetta, who’ll head Italy’s central bank from Nov. 1, are being sought before a meeting of the so-called Eurogroup working group on the final day of the month, the people said, asking not to be identified as deliberations are private.

The debate will continue at ministerial level at an informal gathering of European finance chiefs in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on Sept. 15-16, the people said. Should there be only one candidate, the nod from heads of state could come as soon as October, though the European Parliament and the ECB also have a say.

Italy has always named one of the Executive Board’s six members and Rome is counting on retaining the seat, with central bank official Piero Cipollone being its likeliest choice.

Any opening may also present an opportunity to appoint someone from the six eastern euro-zone members that joined the currency bloc in recent years, though no names have been floated as yet.

When Italy proposed Panetta for the board seat in late-2019, he didn’t face any rival candidates.

A spokesperson for the ECB declined to comment and calls to a Eurogroup spokesperson in Brussels — where institutions are typically lightly staffed in August — weren’t returned.

Whoever takes over will replace one of the ECB’s most-dovish officials, though they’re likely to arrive with an unprecedented bout of interest-rate hikes either already complete or very close to being finished. As that monetary tightening hits home with ever-greater force, concerns are shifting toward the prospects for the 20-nation economy.

Italy, itself, has been most worried about rates being increased too much, with government officials repeatedly slamming the ECB’s steps to tame the worst spike in prices of the euro era.

--With assistance from Jana Randow.

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