Madrid is launching its first ever bid for the eurozone's top monetary job amid growing signs that Christine Lagarde will leave the European Central Bank earlier than planned, opening up the race for succession.
According to Spanish economic newspaper Expansión, which cites five sources close to the process, the Spanish government has chosen Pablo Hernández de Cos, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements and former Bank of Spain governor.
Contact between Hernández de Cos and the team of First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo is regular, the sources say, and the mission of installing the Spaniard in the presidential office on the 40th floor of the central bank's Frankfurt tower, where Lagarde sits until October 2027, has been in the works for months.
Hernández de Cos declined to comment, while the economy ministry said that Spain, as one of the euro area's largest economies and biggest ECB shareholders, naturally aspires to a major role in the institution's next phase and will present a candidacy to match when the moment arrives.
Hernández de Cos' credentials are hard to dispute.
