Government names De Gregorio as Central Bank President

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SANTIAGO.- The government named José de Gregorio this morning as the new Central Bank President and nominated Sebastián Claro for councilor.

Claro's name is a surprise given that the nomination was expected to go to a recognized economist. Names that had been mentioned were those of Felipe Morandé and Rodrigo Vergara.

The current Central Bank officers are: Vittorio Corbo (president), José de Gregorio (vice-president), Jorge Desormeaux (councilor), Manuel Marfán (councilor) and Enrique Marshall (councilor).

According to Central Bank rules, council members remain in their position for ten years, able to be chosen for new periods, and are renewed every 2 years based on their partiality.

Vittorio Corbo arrived to the council in 2003 to replace resigned Central Bank President, Carlos Massad. Given that Massad still had left in his term, Corbo took over the position for the rest of the period, until this December 6th, when President Bachelet was required to nominate a new councilor, who must now be approved by the Senate.