New ECB Executive Board Member: Benoit Coeure

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi is set to be replaced by the very-smart Benoit Coeure of the French Treasury – his website is here.

10 replies on “New ECB Executive Board Member: Benoit Coeure”

I wish Benoit Cœuré well in freshening up the ECB’s executive board, and in bringing some pragmatic and dynamic thought to same.

From his website, a joint paper on:

Which reforms will save the State? Co-edited with Jean-Paul Betbèze, this joint work with colleagues from the Cercle des économistes documents possible government reform in France. The overarching goal should be to achieve fiscal consolidation without undermining economic growth and social cohesion.

The words economic growth and social cohesion to be heard in the towers of Frankfurt!
Vive la difference!.

I shouldn’t get too excited. That glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel may well be an oncoming train.

Don’t know anything about him but he seems to emphasize “liquidity” which could mean many things I guess and preventing excess credit growth.
The French CBers are traditionally more Gold friendly although I guess things have changed over the years.
The last few weeks of Eurozone implosion to save the dollars reserve status may not get a warm reception from this man.
But who really knows ? – CBers don’t really have a nationality , but are known for their coolness when under pressure from poltical forces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6AmFLU5QVQ

French growth prospects in the global economy? Well, I came across a French salumiere (biggish operation) that outsourced casings preparation to China. The intestines are air freighted to China, cleaned and come back under salt on a container ship. The workers at the Chinese end of the chain are earning about two dollars a day. Hope you are not eating late.

It was interesting to hear Berlisconi say that he did not want to ‘start a war’ with France, such was Sarkosys insistance that the ECBs exec board appiontment ‘gentlemans agreement’ was kept by Bini-Smighi making way for a Frenchman. That is how important having a French executive board member is to Sarko. Doesn’t that gentlemans agreement and Sarko ready to ‘go to war’ over it make a mockery of the fact that the ECB board members sign up to a document saying they will have no national bias and work for all Europeans? It makes a complete mockery of it.
Mr. Honahan is taking his commitment to Europe and not Ireland seriously, its clear that others are not though.
This ‘gentlemans agreement’ needs to be changed for a meritocracy and Ireland needs to repeatidly insist this in any negotiation. There is nothing strange about asking for a system of meritocracy in an independent orgainisation. In fact Ireland could ask France – “If ECB exec board members don’t think about national bias, then why do you need a Frenchman there?” – A perfectly reasonable question.
At least he didn’t work for Goldman and is from an academic rather than banking background.

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