The Spanish Government has formally presented this Friday the candidacy of Pablo Hernández de Cos for the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB). The First Deputy Vice President and Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has communicated the proposal in a letter addressed to the president of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, within the deadline established for euro zone countries to submit their candidates.
The candidacy will be examined next Monday 9 November, when the finance ministers of the countries that share the euro meet in the Eurogroup. Spain is thus betting on the former governor of the Bank of Spain, who currently leads the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), to assume the highest responsibility of the European monetary authority.
Cuerpo has defended the experience and the international profile of the Spanish economist. "Pablo Hernández de Cos is an exceptional candidate, with a recognized international reputation and a career that demonstrates leadership, independence, and the ability to engage in dialogue," the minister has said, convinced that he would bring to the ECB "the same firm hand he showed when he was at the helm of the Bank of Spain."
Hernández de Cos's track record in European monetary policy
Hernández de Cos was Governor of the Bank of Spain between 2018 and 2024, a position that allowed him to take part in the ECB's monetary policy decisions as a member of its Governing Council and its General Council.
His professional career began three decades ago in the Department of Economics, Statistics and Research of the Bank of Spain, an institution where he later assumed the Directorate General of Economics and Statistics. He also worked as an advisor to the Executive Committee of the ECB in Frankfurt.
On the international front, he has chaired the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Technical Advisory Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), two bodies linked to banking regulation and the monitoring of financial risks.
A Doctor in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid, Hernández de Cos also has teaching and academic experience. After concluding his term as head of the Bank of Spain in 2024, he went on to lead the Bank for International Settlements.