FRANKFURT, May 3 - Spain should continue to have representation on the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, and even the presidency is not out of the question, outgoing ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said in remarks published on Sunday.
De Guindos, a former Spanish economy minister, will leave his vice president post at the end of the month. He will be succeeded by Boris Vujcic of Croatia, a change that will temporarily leave Spain - one of the euro zone’s four largest economies - without a seat on the ECB’s six-person Executive Board.
Looking ahead, three positions on the board are due to open up next year, including the role currently held by ECB President Christine Lagarde. De Guindos indicated Spain will seek to regain representation among those vacancies.
"The presidency would undoubtedly be the best outcome, but the most important thing is to have a seat on the Executive Board," de Guindos told Spanish newspaper El País. "Spain is the fourth-largest economy in the euro area, and I am convinced it will secure a seat on the Board," he said. "It’s important to have one."
Although all 21 euro zone member states are eligible to put forward candidates for Executive Board posts, the four largest economies in the bloc - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - have historically dominated appointments, limiting opportunities for the remaining nations.
Observers following ECB succession dynamics have identified Pablo Hernandez de Cos, the former governor of the Bank of Spain who later served as General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, as a possible contender for the presidency. De Guindos, however, did not explicitly endorse him.
"Pablo was a good governor, even though it’s true that it was Luis Linde and Fernando Restoy who oversaw the entire bank restructuring process," de Guindos said.
Other Spanish figures mentioned as potential candidates for either a board seat or higher roles include José Luis Escrivá, the current governor of the Bank of Spain; Nadia Calviño, president of the European Investment Bank; and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo. De Guindos’ comments signal Madrid’s intention to pursue representation when the next round of appointments is decided.
For now, Spain faces a short interval without a direct voice on the ECB Executive Board following the scheduled handover later this month, even as attention shifts to next year’s slate of vacancies.