英国央行任人唯才

Mark Carney is the first foreign governor in the 318-year history of the Bank of England. The overwhelmingly positive reception to his appointment is testimony to the strength of his personal credentials for one of the toughest jobs in global finance. It is also a resounding statement that Britain is ready to hire the best talent for top posts.

在英国央行(BoE)318年的历史上，马克·卡尼(Mark Carney)是第一位外籍行长。人们对他的任命几乎是清一色的认可，这是对他个人能力的认可，表明人们认为他完全有资格肩负起全球金融领域最为艰巨的工作之一。这也有力地表明，英国愿意聘用一流的人才担任最高职务。

Just months ago, Mr Carney emphatically denied he was in the running to succeed Sir Mervyn King. His lack of candour is excusable given the sensitivities of his current employer, the Bank of Canada, and the unpredictable reaction in financial markets.

几个月前，卡尼还坚决否认他有可能接替默文·金爵士(Sir Mervyn King)。考虑到他受聘于当前雇主——加拿大央行(Bank of Canada)的敏感性，以及金融市场难以预测的反应，他不够坦率也是情有可原的。

In a field in which experience was a key criterion, Mr Carney was an outstanding candidate. It is to the credit of George Osborne that he doggedly pursued Mr Carney and, like Canada’s celebrated Mounted Police, succeeded in getting his man.

在一个以经验为关键评判标准的领域，卡尼是一位杰出的候选人。这件事得归功于乔治·奥斯本(George Osborne)锲而不舍地邀请卡尼，最终就像加拿大皇家骑警(Royal Canadian Mounted Police)一样，成功地“缉拿到了他的目标。

The chancellor’s calculation was that the vastly expanded Bank – which under his blueprint assumes responsibility for financial stability and monetary policy – needed an outsider to take charge. Mr Carney fits the bill. At the Bank of Canada he has overseen all the key areas the next governor must deal with: monetary policy; prudential supervision; macro-prudential regulation; and financial markets. In addition, he has experience of international regulation at the very top tier, having since 2011 been the head of the Financial Stability Board.

英国财相的考量是，职能大幅扩大的英国央行——按照他的蓝图，英国央行将承担起维护金融稳定和管理货币政策的责任——需要一位外人来掌管。卡尼是合适人眩在加拿大央行，卡尼已经在监督新一任英国央行行长所需处理的所有关键领域：货币政策、审慎监督、宏观审慎监管以及金融市常此外，自2011年起，卡尼开始担任金融稳定委员会(Financial Stability Board)的主席，拥有在最高层从事国际监管的经验。

Mr Carney enjoyed one further decisive advantage. Not only was he untainted by the BoE’s spotty performance during the initial phase of the crisis; he comes from an institution, the Bank of Canada, that is thought to have performed well during the meltdown.

此外，卡尼还拥有一点决定性优势。不但金融危机初期英国央行时好时坏的表现对他个人声誉没有影响，而且他还来自加拿大央行——这是一家被认为在危机期间表现良好的机构。

The chancellor’s choice is no doubt a profound disappointment to Paul Tucker, the current deputy governor for financial stability. As the Financial Times has written, Mr Tucker would have been an excellent choice. Indeed, the final six candidates – drawn from a mixture of academia and finance – were all strong contenders.

财相的选择无疑令负责金融稳定事务的副行长保罗·塔克(Paul Tucker)大失所望。正如英国《金融时报》此前登载的文章中所指出的，塔克本是一个杰出的人眩确实，从学术界和金融行业中挑选出来的6名最终候选人，都是强有力的竞争者。

Some may quibble that the choice of a foreigner reflects poorly on the intellectual capital of the country. In fact, the appointment could end up serving to underline the BoE’s independence. This is valuable at a time of controversy over unconventional monetary policies.

有人可能挑刺说，选择一名外国人担任英国央行行长反映出英国智力资本贫瘠。其实，这次委任外国人恰恰凸显出了英国央行的独立性。在非传统货币政策引发争议之际，这一点弥足珍贵。

The new governor’s responsibilities are immense. Mr Carney, with his private sector background and his distinguished public service, is a new broom. We wish him well.

新任行长责任重大。卡尼既有私营行业从业背景，也担任过杰出的公职，他这次新官上任，我们祝愿他烧起几把火。