1 Introduction
The appointment and our inquiry
1. On 12 February 2009 the Bank of England announced
that Paul Fisher was to be appointed Executive Director, Markets,
with effect from 1 March.[1]
As such, Paul Fisher became a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC). In accordance with our established practice for
those appointed or re-appointed to the MPC, we decided to report
on whether Paul Fisher fulfilled our criteria for appointments
to the MPC of professional competence and personal independence.
We asked Paul Fisher to complete a questionnaire and to provide
a curriculum vitae and then we took oral evidence from him on
21 April. That oral evidence and his answers to our questionnaire
will be published in Volume II of this Report. We are grateful
to Paul Fisher for his evidence.
The appointment process
2. The vacancy filled by Paul Fisher was created
by the appointment of Paul Tucker, the bank's previous Executive
Director, Markets, as Deputy Governor, Financial Stability. On
19 June 2008, the Chancellor of the Exchequer reported in a letter
to the Chairman of this Committee that the Governor had indicated
to him that in future the Bank would "advertise externally
the two Bank Executive Director posts which carry MPC membership".[2]
This change was designed to ensure that all future appointments
to the MPC would be the subject of external advertisement, following
the Government's decision in 2007 to make external appointments
to the MPC subject to such advertisement.[3]
3. Paul Fisher's appointment was the first to be
made under the new arrangements. The post was advertised externally
and candidates were interviewed by a committee chaired by the
Governor. The responsibility for making such executive appointments
is a decision for the Governor of the Bank, after consultation
with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.[4]
In previous Reports we have welcomed the Government's decision
to advertise for future vacancies for external members of the
MPC.[5]
4. We have previously
welcomed the decision of the Governor of the Bank of England to
make appointments to the posts of Executive Directors of the Bank
which carry membership of the Monetary Policy Committee subject
to external advertisement and we are pleased to note that the
appointment of the Executive Director, Markets, was subject to
this process.
1 "Appointment - Executive Director, Markets",
Bank of England News Release , 12 February 2009, www.bankofengland.co.uk Back
2
Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to John McFall MP,
available at www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/Chancellor08619F.pdf Back
3
Treasury Committee, Twelfth Report of Session 2006-07, The Monetary
Policy Committee of the Bank of England: ten years on, HC 299-I,
para 78 Back
4
Bank of England Act 1998, c 11, section 13 Back
5
HC (2006-07) 299-I, paras 79, 84 Back
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