Mario Draghi, vice-president of Goldman Sachs Europe andan economist with long experience of Italian government and finance, was named yesterday as the next governor of the Bank of Italy.
Mr Draghi, 58, will replace Antonio Fazio, who resigned on December 19 after he was put under investigation in two criminal inquiries into a cross-border banking takeover controversy that tarnished the Italian central bank's image.
Politicians, businessmen and economists praised Mr Draghi as the right choice to restore the credibility of the Italian financial sector, after scandals ranging from the multi-billion euro accounting fraud at the Parmalat food group to Mr Fazio's involvement in the banking bid battle.
"It's a good choice," said Lamberto Dini, a former prime minister. "Mario Draghi will be an excellent governor, capable of restoring prestige and credibility to the Bank of Italy."
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, head of Confindustria, Italy's employer group, said Mr Draghi was well known for his experience and independence from political pressure. "His nomination can and must close a difficult phase for the credibility of our financial institutions at the international level," he said.
In contrast to Mr Fazio, who had an open-ended mandate at the bank and was known for his imperious style of leadership, Mr Draghi will serve a six-year term, renewable once, and is likely to manage the bank in a more collegiate way. Mr Draghi spent 10 years from 1991 as director-general of the Italian treasury, where he piloted Europe's biggest privatisation programme.
Apart from improving the efficiency of Italian industry and promoting popular ownership of shares, the sell-off of state assets raised tens of billions of euros for the government.
Mr Draghi's duties will include joining the other 17 members of the European Central Bank's governing council in setting interest rates for the eurozone. He is not expected to deviate from the tight anti-inflationary path set by the ECB and some economists said he might adopt a more pragmatic approach than Mr Fazio.
