Mark Carney to the Bank of England

As a proud Canadian I am ecstatic. A few days ago Mr. Carney – the current Governor of the Bank of Canada who directed Canadian monetary policy through the financial crisis and into recovery – announced his impending departure to become the next Governor of the Bank of England. His accomplishments, skills and character did not go unnoticed and was heavily recruited by the Bank of England to leave his post in Canada and join them in London. I’ve been watching this story for a while because Mr. Carney has somewhat achieved “Rock-star status” amongst the finance and economic nerds in my circle of friends, and I’m feeling all giddy and patriotic and stuff.

Some might say that this is a slap in the face to Canada. He is going from the farm leagues to the big leagues now. But I disagree; I think it is a compliment to the strength and soundness of the Canadian Financial System. It sets a clear message that we are a forced to be reckoned with and considering the world is now a Global Financial System the best people need to be were the biggest problems are. And if you had to pick out a spot on the map and identify where a hub of big problems are London would be a great choice:

1. They have banks that are still nationalized
2. Very tight ties to the continent of Europe, and of course we all know what is going on there
3. The Bank of England has just emerged from a “double dip” recession and there are very tough economic conditions to deal with.

There are several other reasons why I feel so excited about this move for Mr. Carney across the pond:

1. The Canadian Financial System, like everywhere else in the world, is by no measure 100% safe and operating at peak levels. But if there were any huge overarching looming problems he would not feel confident in leaving at this time. If there really was something here that was concerning him he would have stuck around.
2. This is the first time a non-sovereign has assumed the role of Governor of the Bank of England and this can easily land anywhere in the top 3 “Most Important Jobs on the Earth"
3. Despite the fact that Canada only accounts for 3.8% of the world’s GDP, I think that this will raise our brand significantly. Who knows? This may raise our probability of becoming a Reserve Currency.

- Signed ConanDBull, a proud Canuck, eh!