- Title: Mexico's post-Trump blues deepen as cenbank chief to move on
- Date: 1st December 2016
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (DECEMBER 01, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CENTRAL BANK HEADQUARTERS EXTERIOR EXITING CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AGUSTIN CARSTENS ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA AND CENTRAL BANK OFFICIALS AT NEWS CONFERENCE SIGN WITH NAME OF CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EXITING CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AGUSTIN CARSTENS, SAYING: "In no way should my standing down be read as a reaction on my part to an incident or disagreement with the Treasury, with the Federal Government. It is nothing like that." CARSTENS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EXITING CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AGUSTIN CARSTENS, SAYING: "It is an exaggeration to think that movement in today's exchange rate is attributed to my decision. The truth is I will remain on for seven more months. The market knows very well that the governor is the face of the Bank but the decisions do not depend on me. I think that what has happened is a reaction to changes in international interest rates." MEDIA AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EXITING CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AGUSTIN CARSTENS, SAYING: "Unfortunately what has happened recently has not been caused by me, nor by Mexico. Global institutions are affecting it, the bank of international payments." GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHER AT NEWS CONFERENCE MORE OF NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF CARSTENS LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 16th December 2016 22:52
- Keywords: Central Bank Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens stand down
- Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Reuters ID: LVA0015B20W1Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens will stand down in July, a move that adds doubts about the direction of Latin America's No. 2 economy following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
The central bank on Thursday (December 01) announced the impending departure of the 58-year-old Carstens, who has been at the helm of the central bank since 2010 and whose term had been due to conclude at the end of 2021.
Carstens, a former Mexican finance minister and highly respected by international investors, will leave to take the top job at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in October for a five-year term, the Basel-based BIS said. Carstens has for some time had his eye on such a role. He ran unsuccessfully in 2011 to head the International Monetary Fund, losing to France's Christine Lagarde.
The peso currency, which has been battered by fears surrounding the Trump presidency, weakened more than 1 percent against the U.S. dollar on the news that Carstens was leaving, hitting its lowest since mid-November in the aftermath of the election.
The peso later pared losses to trade down about 0.8 percent but Carstens denied the change was due to his decision.
"In no way should my standing down be read as a reaction on my part to an incident or disagreement with the Treasury, with the Federal Government. It is nothing like that," he said.
At the news conference, Carstens was asked whether he was jumping ship in the middle of the storm, a reference to the election of Donald Trump. He replied that he would still be around for seven more months.
"It is an exaggeration to think that movement in today's exchange rate is attributed to my decision. The truth is I will remain on for seven more months. The market knows very well that the governor is the face of the Bank but the decisions do not depend on me. I think that what has happened is a reaction to changes in international interest rates," he added.
During the U.S. presidential campaign, Carstens warned that Trump's election could hit Mexico like a hurricane.
However, following Trump's surprise victory, he suggested the next U.S. government's impact could be less severe.
Speaking to media, Carstens said that Mexico's economic fortunes are largely pegged to global institutions.
"Unfortunately what has happened recently has not been caused by me, nor by Mexico. Global institutions are affecting it, the bank of international payments," he said.
Carstens is known as a savvy political operator who rose from being the central bank's chief economist in the 1990s to hold senior posts in the finance ministry. As head of the central bank, he presided over Mexico's recovery from the global financial crisis and helped keep inflation low in a country that had suffered a string of economic mishaps in previous years.
Carstens' replacement was not immediately clear but the exiting governor reported he expected Mexico's president to name the new governor before he steps down at the end of June.
Among possible successors mentioned were Alejandro Werner, a former deputy finance minister who holds the top post for the Western Hemisphere at the International Monetary Fund, as well as current deputy central bank governor Manuel Ramos Francia, who is less well known in global financial circles.
Former Finance Minister Luis Videgaray, a close ally of President Enrique Pena Nieto, is also seen as a potential replacement, though he is a divisive figure in Mexican politics. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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