Amidst high expectations for shaking up an old institution, Canadian Mark Carney took over as governor of the Bank of England. Monday鈥檚 headlines in the British press gave him praise for taking the London Underground to the office.
He arrived early for work 鈥� at 7 a.m. -- in his new role as England鈥檚 top banker.
Carney, 48, spent the last five years as the Bank of Canada Governor. In that role he was credited with steady handling of Canada鈥檚 economy during a financial crisis that took its toll on other G8 and G20 nations.
Michael Hewson, Senior Market Analyst at CMC Markets in London, says Carney has gained a lot of 鈥渂rownie points鈥� for his handling of the financial crisis, given that Canada was the only G7 country that did not have to receive a banking bailout during the financial crisis that started in 2008.
One of Carney鈥檚 challenges will be to reform the Bank of England and improve communications.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got an awful lot of hype to live up to,鈥� Hewson said, 鈥渁nd I think because of where he is that he might not be able to live up to that hype.
The British economy, still struggling, grew just 0.3 per cent in the first quarter this year compared to the previous quarter.
Carney is the first non-British person to take the post of governor in the Bank of England鈥檚 319-year history, and will receive a $1.4 million salary, making him one of England鈥檚 highest paid public servants.
This week Carney will meet with the Monetary Policy Committee, a nine-member group, to discuss whether to expand England鈥檚 stimulus plan. To date the plan has pumped 375 billion pounds ($579 billion) into England鈥檚 economy since 2009.
Reaction in the British press
The Independent newspaper quoted one pundit who called Carney the 鈥滵on Draper of banking,鈥� playing off the popular television show Mad Men, but added Carney 鈥渨ill need more than the fictional advertising guru's charisma to help get the UK economy back on its feet.鈥�
Both the Guardian and the Telegraph quoted Justin Urquhart Stewart, the managing director of Seven Investment Management, who ran into Carney on public transit Monday morning.
鈥淢ark Carney was absolutely charming, and had none of the typical pomposity of Brits,鈥� Urquhart Stewart told The Daily Telegraph.
"I've established he definitely wasn't George Clooney," Urquhart Stewart told the Guardian. "I wished him good luck."
鈥淚t is nice to see someone being suitably parsimonious,鈥� Urquhart Stewart added.
The Daily Mirror wrote that in 1982, Carney鈥檚 high school trivia team lost a competition after it failed to correctly answer who was Snoopy鈥檚 bird friend (Woodstock).
鈥淢r. Carney will be sincerely hoping such mistakes are a thing of the past,鈥� Graham Hiscott, the Daily Mirror鈥檚 business editor wrote.
The Mirror also quoted a leading businessman who said Carney has fierce ambition with the ability to back it up.
鈥淗e wants to be up there with the elite, make no mistake about it,鈥� an anonymous businessman told the Mirror.
British press coverage of Carney鈥檚 first day:
- The Guardian:
- The Telegraph:
- The Independent:
- Mirror:
