(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey is a leading candidate to become the next chair of the Financial Stability Board, a move that would upend how the watchdog traditionally rotates its leadership at a fraught time for global policy making.
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While Bailey is considered a frontrunner for the role, the group remains in discussions about who should take over for the Dutch National Bank’s Klaas Knot when his chair term expires in July, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public deliberations.
The Financial Stability Board is “nearing the completion” of nominating candidates for the role, according to a spokesperson, who said an announcement would be made after the plenary — the FSB’s key decision-making body — makes a selection. A representative for the Bank of England declined to comment.
The FSB was founded in 2009 to foster global consensus around the policies that safeguard the financial system. Sixteen years later, that global consensus is fraying, though.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to its finance authorities agreeing not to participate in FSB meetings from 2022. Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House has already prompted a rethink of the US’s participation in multi-lateral agencies like the World Health Organization, while the administration has vowed to rollback burdensome financial regulation.
Typically, the FSB has alternated between selecting its chairs from North America and Europe. The Bank of Italy’s Mario Draghi was the body’s inaugural chair followed by Mark Carney, who was governor of the Bank of Canada before he assumed the same role at the Bank of England.
The Federal Reserve’s Randal Quarles led the FSB from 2018 to 2021, which is when Knot took over.
The FSB’s charter requires a chair to have “recognized expertise and standing in the international financial policy arena.” Bailey is considered a stronger candidate at this time because his peers in the US are still in the process of being appointed to their roles after the country’s recent elections, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
Bailey first joined the Bank of England in 1985 and previously spent almost four years as head of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. He has also been on the FSB plenary since 2018.