Banking on a good sense of humour

Date: 12/03/1998

Some unusual candidates are emerging for membership of the six-strong executive board of the European Central Bank.

Until now, only central bankers have been allowed to 'apply', with a clear message being conveyed to outsiders that they were not wanted.

However, it seems that opinions are changing. When Klaus-Dieter Kuehbacher, president of Berlin and Brandenburg's state central bank, was asked who he thought should be on the ECB board, he immediately proposed former Financial Times European Editor David Marsh, who now works as a European analyst for a top merchant bank in London.

“Why not? He's a keen observer of the international scene, has a good sense of humour and knows economics and the central banking scene,” said Kuehbacher.

Quite why the German banker is of the opinion that running the most powerful economic institution in the EU requires a sense of humour remains unclear.