LIEGE, Belgium (MNI) – European Central Bank Governing Council
member Guy Quaden will leave his post as governor of the Belgian
National Bank (BNB) at the end of March, Belgian media reported late
Wednesday.
Quaden, who would thus leave the ECB’s monetary policy-making
Governing Council, will be succeeded by current BNB Vice Governor Luc
Coene, according to the reports.
“It is time that the government be able to give the [Belgian
National] Bank a stable direction with an eye toward transferring
prudential control of the banks,” Belgian daily l’Echo quoted Quaden as
saying.
Quaden has generally been considered a relatively dovish member of
the ECB Governing Council, but in any case rarely if ever deviates from
the party line as enunciated by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, who
was also at the event where Quaden announced his imminent departure.
Speaking at a press conference February 14 to present the BNB’s
2010 Annual Report, Quaden said that inflation expectations remain well
anchored in Europe and inflation rates would decline “progressively” in
the second half of this year.
“I believe — but I am not sure — that we have entered a period
where raw materials are going to increase durably,” he said. Whereas
previously “we had ups and downs” on commodity markets, Quaden said his
“feeling” was that “things are different now” and “the prices of raw
materials are going to be on the rise structurally.”
Coene’s advancement to the BNB president’s role must still be
formally approved by the Belgian government.
–Frankfurt bureau tel.: +49-69-720142. Email: dbarwick@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: MT$$$$,MGX$$$,M$$EC$,M$X$$$]
