(Bloomberg) -- Spain is set to announce its new central bank governor on Wednesday, ending prolonged speculation over who will fill a vacancy that has been empty for almost three months.
Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo has requested to address lawmakers on the economic committee to unveil the appointment, according to an agenda posted on the parliament’s website. He is set to speak at 3 p.m. in Madrid.
The name of the governor has been kept under wraps since Pablo Hernandez de Cos’s term ended in June. The government has suggested it wants the new policymaker to be able to attend the next meeting of the European Central Bank’s interest-rate-setting Governing Council, which is set to gather in Frankfurt on Sept. 11-12.
The choice of the new Bank of Spain has been delayed because Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s executive and the People’s Party, its main opponent, have failed to reach an agreement on a candidate. Although it’s the government prerogative to pick the governor, Spanish tradition dictates that it is done together with the opposition, who names the deputy.
Sanchez’s team has proposed naming Jose Luis Escriva, the minister for digital affairs, but the PP has said it’s against giving the job to a serving minister. Escriva is a former ECB official, who has also worked for Spain’s central bank and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, one of the country’s largest lenders.
Cuerpo was due to appear before parliament July 11 to unveil the name of the governor, but canceled the day before as talks with the PP fell through. Currently, Deputy Governor Margarita Delgado is standing in as governor, and her term ends Sept. 10.
(Updates with details starting in second paragraph.)
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