Speculation over Bank's new governor

The race for the Bank's top position is hotting up

Speculation over who will succeed Sir Edward George at the head of the Bank of England has been revived.

It follows the news that one possible successor is to stand down from his current post.

Andrew Crockett, general manager at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has said he will leave his position in March next year.

And Sir Edward is due to step down as governor of the Bank of England (BoE) in June 2003.

Mr Crockett - a former senior official at the BoE - has been named as one of the favourites to replace Sir Edward.

Coincidence?

Mr Crockett's announcement means he will be leaving nine months before his current five-year term was due to end.

Andrew Crockett: saying nothing about plans

"I have no plans as to what I will do and I don't intend to make any plans until I have left here," he said.

But some observers said the timing of his move pointed to a move back to the BoE.

"Speculation will undoubtedly increase that this clears the decks from him to have a nice holiday before taking over the reins at the Old Lady [Bank of England]," said Ciaran Barr, an economist at Deutsche Bank.

Runners and riders

The Bank of England's current deputy governor Mervyn King is seen as the favourite to take over from Sir Edward.

The other leading contender is the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Howard Davies.

Mr Crockett has a low profile in the UK, but has many years of banking and financial experience both in the UK and abroad.

He joined the Bank of England in 1966, but then went on secondment to the International Monetary Fund from 1972 to 1989.

He then returned to the BoE, but in 1994 left again to run the BIS, which is based in Basle in Switzerland.

The BIS acts as a bank to the world's central banks and provides a forum for the central banks to discuss financial matters.