ECB had no involvement in national central bank governor nomination

A European Central Bank (ECB) spokesperson has confirmed that the institution is not involved in the appointment of central bank governors.

According to the Times of Malta, the statement follows doubts about the role of the ECB in the appointment central bank governors which arose after Alfred Mifsud, the Maltese government’s first choice for governor, found himself mired in corruption allegations.

The government did not pursue Mifsud’s nomination after he informed Prime Minister Joseph Muscat that he wished to withdraw himself from the post. Economist Mario Vella was appointed instead.

The ECB spokesman said Vella’s appointment, as with any other, was regulated by national laws which the Frankfurt-based European financial institution does not influence.

“The ECB’s silence on national affairs was the stand taken by the bank in similar situations in the past,” the spokesman added.

Vella, who served as Labour Party president for some time in the mid-1990s, took office  on 1 July, succeeding former Nationalist Cabinet minister Josef Bonnici.