(Bloomberg) -- Mark Carney sought to put an end to speculation over how long he'll stay at the Bank of England, arguing that he has the full backing of the government.
Following weeks of public discussion over his future, Carney announced late on Monday that he would stay as governor until June 2019. That's a year longer than he agreed when he took the job, though shorter than the statutory eight-year term. Carney declined to answer questions from reporters on Thursday over whether he could extend his time again.
Mark Carney on Nov. 3.
“We've all had enough of that saga,” he said at a press conference in London after the BOE left interest rates and its asset-purchase program unchanged, repeating the answer later when another reporter pressed him on the issue.
Carney's future at the BOE was put in doubt after a number of high-profile lawmakers criticized him for what they saw as excessively gloomy forecasts before the Brexit vote, and for making comments some perceived as too political. And there was fire from Prime Minister Theresa May on the side effects of loose monetary policy, with some interpreting the remarks as a direct attack on the governor.
May subsequently indicated her support for Carney, while Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond also publicly backed him. Carney denied any rift between the BOE and government when asked on Thursday about threats to the central bank's independence.
“We don't feel under any pressure from the government, certainly none from the prime minister,” he said. “I think the prime minister, and the government, fully supports the monetary-policy framework we have in place. And in that framework, we take those decisions.”
--With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss To contact the reporters on this story: Fergal O'Brien in London at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net, Jeff Black, Jana Randow
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