Mário Centeno seen as good choice for European Central Bank plum post say bankers
Portuguese bankers believe that ex-governor of the Bank of Portugal and former Finances minister Mário Centeno would be a good choice for the position of Vice President of the European Central Bank.
Speaking at the conference ‘The Banking Sector of the Future’ organised by business daily Jornal de Negócios on Tuesday morning, bankers from Millennium bcp and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) view Mário Centeno, who completed his term at the BoP last summer, as a “good choice” to replace the current incumbent Luis de Guindos when he steps down in May, 2026.
“A Portuguese being chosen just because he’s Portuguese if he’s no good, then no”, said Miguel Maya, CEO of Millennium BCP.“Competent people in the first instance and competent Portuguese in the second instance”, aded the banker.
“It’s not just because he’s Portuguese that he should necessarily be put forward for some European post”, added Francisco Cary, a director at Caixa Geral de Depósitos.
And added: “Centeno is a good name for this job at the ECB. He has the curriculum, the experience and the qualities”.
The post is currently held by Spanish economist and politician Luis de Guindos who has recently been warning of a possible systemic crisis on stock markets in Europe due to very high valued stocks and shares and a general risk of financial instability in the Euro Zone.
However, Finland is trying to play ahead. Olli Rehn, a liberal, member of the ECB Board of Governors, has expressed interest in the post of vice-president of the institution.
Currently governor of the Central Bank of Finland and formerly the Finnish Minister of Economy (May 2015-December 2016), Rehn was Commissioner for the Economy and the Euro (9 February 2010- 1 July 2014) in the second Barroso Commission, showing himself to be a strong defender of rigour and austerity policies. “He is qualified” for the role, argues Riikka Purra, Finland’s Finance Minister. “We support him,” she said publicly on the sidelines of the Eurogroup proceedings, officially opening the all-political nomination process.
Mario Centeno, a socialist, former Portuguese Finance Minister (November 2015–June 2020), former president of the Eurogroup (January 2018–July 2020), and head of Portugal’s central bank until the summer has the implicit support from Portugal’s Finances Minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.
Although he considers it “premature” to start the guessing game over names, Sarmento has admitted that “of course, the government is always pleased when a Portuguese gets international appointments.”
At the conference, CGD’s Cary said that a vice-president of the ECB was a “key post in European decision making” and having a Portuguese in the job would “help in understanding the challenges felt in Portugal”.
BPI CEO João Pedro Oliveira who was surprised to learn he was “leaving his job at the bank” after his comments during the conference were misinterpreted by the press, said: “A Portuguese in any prominent position in Europe is important, and although Centeno has the necessary curriculum for the position, it is important that he can also count on the support of the Portuguese Government”, he said.
“The Government must support a candidacy. It should support any Portuguese person in an important position in Europe. We need more people in important places, in decision-making places, to have influence,” added the head of the bank owned by Spain’s La Caixa.
He also spoke to Essential Business on the sidelines of the conference and stated that he wasn’t planning to leave BPI anytime soon as had been reported. What he had said was that he was “still young” and there was “life beyond banking”.
Santander’s CEO Pedro Castro e Almeida (who is also considered for the post of chief risk officer for the Santander Group) added that Portugal needed to “get behind Centeno” as a candidate. “It makes sense that Portugal should compete in the race for ECB jobs.”
Photo: Mário Centeno at the International Club of Portugal; image: Fernando Bento
