With his applied reading of his texts and his monotonous tone, Andrew Bailey has a rare ability to make the most exciting economic subjects soporific. It’s probably a huge quality. On Friday, December 20, the British government appointed him governor of the Bank of England, both for his extensive experience in the British financial community and his ability to make waves.
On March 16, 2020, the Briton will replace Mark Carney, a much more flamboyant Canadian, but also very controversial. Arrived at the head of the monetary institution in 2013, the latter had risked clearly opposing Brexit during the 2016 referendum campaign. Having thus politicized his role, he was the subject of all-out criticism of Conservative MPs and ministers who accused him of leading the "Fear project" against leaving the European Union.
Nerves of steel
In comparison, it is difficult to know what Mr. Bailey thinks. "He doesn't comment on monetary policy, or even more broadly on Brexit or the economy", notes Elizabeth Martins, economist at HSBC. Man has an impeccable journey from "Experienced technocrat", she adds.
Father of two children, he had a straight course: thirty years at the Bank of England, until becoming, in 2012, his vice-governor, then, for three years, director of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the British market policeman.
Originally from Leicester, in the Midlands, having gone through a grammar school (a public school with entrance exam), Mr. Bailey studied history at the University of Cambridge before being recruited in 1985 to the Bank. He gradually climbed all the levels: head of the economic analysis division on monetary policy, private secretary to the governor, director of payment services, etc.
Proof of nerves of steel, he emerged with a strengthened reputation from the 2008 financial crisis, during which he worked on the complete renewal of banking supervision. "He is the most capable and competent Bank of England executive I have worked with, by far the strongest in the heat of the financial crisis", entrusts to Financial times Nicholas Macpherson, a former permanent secretary to the British Treasury.
By choosing this solid and discreet candidate, the British government is obviously seeking to appease. Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer, made the announcement in the room where his distant predecessor, Gordon Brown, declared independence from the monetary institution in 1997. "It is essential that the governor be independent in spirit and that the institution take the decisions it considers necessary without the interference of any politician", he insisted during a short press conference.
