Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is ready to serve a full eight-year term, despite critics campaigning for him to resign ahead of time, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Carney, who accepted the post in 2012, is said to be leaning towards staying on and helping to steer the U.K. economy after the government triggers Article 50 of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, the FT said. This starts the formal negotiation process, lasting up to two years, until Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Prime Minister Theresa May and Finance Minister Philip Hammond were confident until recently that Carney would stay until 2021 rather than stepping down in 2018, according to the FT.
British media reported at the weekend that Carney was unlikely to take up the option of a three-year extension to his term at the central bank, and may announce his decision as early as Thursday.
The Sunday Times reported that Carney was unhappy with May’s office and had a closer relationship with Hammond’s predecessor, George Osborne, who had recruited him.
The governor is expected to confer with May and Hammond before making a decision, the FT reported.
Carney has said publicly that he will decide before the end of the year whether to stay beyond the five-year term he committed to when he joined the BoE in July 2013. He is due to hold a quarterly news conference on Thursday.
Last week, Carney said his decision whether to stay would be based on personal rather than political considerations, and he would need to find some time to make up his mind.
