Finland to kick off search for new central bank chief next week

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Euro zone member Finland will next week start its search for a successor to central bank Governor Erkki Liikanen, the head of the bank’s supervisory council said on Friday.

Liikanen, who also sits on the rate-setting Governing Council of the European Central Bank, will complete his second and final seven-year term in the post in July.

Bank of Finland’s parliamentary supervisory council is aiming to start the process of searching for his successor immediately after its meeting on March 23, council chairman Matti Vanhanen said.

“The interviews will be conducted during April and the aim is to have the final nomination done during May.”

Analysts consider Bank of Finland board member Olli Rehn as the strongest candidate if he chooses to apply. [nL8N1OK2XT]

Rehn has spent a decade at the European Commission and part of that time was as the EU’s top economic official during the euro zone debt crisis.

ECB supervisory board member Pentti Hakkarainen, Liikanen’s former deputy in Finland, told the daily newspaper Kauppalehti last month that he is considering running for the post.

“Historically, we’ve always found good candidates,” Vanhanen said.

Major policy changes are not expected after the departure of Liikanen, who is known for largely backing ECB President Mario Draghi. [nL5N1H73E7]

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