© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Joachim Nagel, Member of the Board of Directors of the German Bundesbank, attends the annual press conference in Frankfurt, March 12, 2015. REUTERS / Ralph Orlowski / File Photo
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s new government will choose Joachim Nagel, a career banker with ties to the ruling Social Democratic Party, as the next Bundesbank chief, the Handelsblatt newspaper and a government source said on Monday.
Nagel, a former member of the Bundesbank’s board of directors, will succeed Jens Weidmann on January 1, who resigned five years earlier after a decade of unsuccessful opposition to the European Central Bank’s aggressive stimulus policy of rates sub-zero interest rates and massive government bond purchases. .
The appointment could be formalized later this week by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Handelsblatt added.
The 55-year-old economist will take over at a time of tension. Inflation is more than double the ECB’s 2% target, and opposing camps within the ECB’s Governing Council have markedly different views on its likely course.
A former member of the board of directors of the public development bank KfW Bank, Nagel is currently employed by the Bank for International Settlements.
Although he has not publicly expressed his opinion on monetary policy for years, the speeches he gave as a member of the Bundesbank board between 2010 and 2016 show that he adhered to the firm stance of the German central bank on inflation; and the emphasis on market discipline for banks and governments.
As head of the Bundesbank, Nagel would join Isabel Schnabel on the ECB Governing Council as one of the two Germans.
Fusion media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any information, including data, quotes, graphics and buy / sell signals contained in this website. Please be fully informed about the risks and costs associated with trading in the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest forms of investing possible.