Departing central bank chief criticises new regulatory set-up

The new structure for the central bank which finance minister Jan Kees de Jager plans to introduce is no good, departing bank president Nout Wellink reportedly says in a new book.


The comments are contained in the book Wellink aan het woord (Wellink speaks) written by NRC journalist Roel Janssen which will be published on Friday.
Wellink believes the new structure with a head of regulation and a parallel position of president will not work. ‘I think… there will be a bigger risk of accidents in the future,’ Wellink says.

Complex

Likening the set-up to a ship in a storm with two captains, Wellink said: ‘We will probably have to go through a few more years of stormy weather.’ The new system is complicated and has been worked out without convincing arguments, he said.
Wellink headed the central bank for 14 years, and has come under fire several times for the bank’s failure to properly regulate the financial sector – in particular during the takeover of ABN Amro and the Icesave scandal.
The bank’s new president is former civil servant Klaas Knot while Jan Sijbrand will take over the regulatory role.

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