People: Tunisian governor resigns; EFSF appoints chairman

Tunisia: The governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Chedly Ayari, resigned on February 14. Prime minister Youssef Chahed had initiated the process to replace him on February 7, as the country grapples with high inflation and falling reserves.

The leading candidate to substitute Ayari would be Marouane El Abassi, the World Bank’s representative in Libya, says a Reuters article.

The national assembly is expected to vote today (February 15) on El Abassi’s appointment, with confirmation set to follow from president Beji Caid Essebsi.

In the wake of the Tunisian revolution in early 2011 and the removal of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, political instability and terrorist attacks have contributed to a drop in international investment and tourism. A weak currency and above-target inflation have hampered economic recovery, especially as foreign exchange reserves cover just 84 days of imports, according to the central bank. 

In addition to the economic challenges, the European Parliament voted last week to include Tunisia on its list of non-European Union countries at high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Central Bank of Tunisia did not respond to requests for comment before publication.

Single Resolution Board: The European Commission put forward Boštjan Jazbec, governor of the Bank of Slovenia, on February 14 to become member of the board and director of the Single Resolution Board.

The SRB is the body created by the EU in 2015 to conduct the resolution of failing banks, and saw some its first action in the resolution of Spain’s Banco Popular in June 2017.

Jazbec has been governor of the Bank of Slovenia since 2013. Immediately prior to that, he worked at the International Monetary Fund as a senior adviser to the governor of the central bank of Surinam.

European Financial Stability Facility: The board of directors of the EFSF elected Harald Waiglein its new chairman on February 8. He replaces Hans Vijlbrief, who was appointed president of the Eurogroup Working Group in January.

Waiglein has worked in the Austrian finance ministry since 2007, where he acted as director-general for economic policy and financial markets. In that capacity, he has worked with the Economic and Financial Affairs Council and the Eurogroup. Additionally, he is a member of the board of directors of the European Stability Mechanism.

Klaus Regling, chief executive of the EFSF said: “I am pleased that Harald Waiglein accepted the task of steering the EFSF board of directors. We will surely benefit from his experience in euro area policy and his excellent understanding of finance.”

The EFSF was the first mechanism created by the EU to respond to the sovereign debt crisis of 2010–12. It provided support to Ireland, Portugal and Greece, as their access to international markets was hampered by their weakened fiscal positions.