Bank of England governor announcement postponed

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Mark Carney is due to leave the Bank of England at the end of January

The government will wait until after the general election on 12 December to name the new governor of the Bank of England.

The appointment of a new bank chief to succeed Mark Carney was due to be announced imminently.

However, UK governments usually refrain from making major announcements during an election campaign.

Earlier on Thursday, a spokesman for the prime minister said the appointment remained on track.

Mr Carney, a former governor of the Bank of Canada is due to leave the post on 31 January, the date when the UK's Brexit extension period runs out.

Mr Carney has been in post since July 2013.

Front-runners to take on the role include chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, Andrew Bailey, chair of Santander Bank, Shriti Vadera, and the Bank's current deputy governor, Ben Broadbent.