The government has appointed Clare Lombardelli as the new deputy governor for monetary policy at the Bank of England.
Currently chief economist of the OECD, she will start in the role and as a member of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee on 1 July, after the appointment was approved by the King.
At her first meeting, on 1 August, women will make up the majority of the MPC for the first time (see below).
Lombardelli replaces deputy governor Ben Broadbent, who has been in the role since 2019.
The former chief economic advisor to HM Treasury and joint head of the Government Economic Service, who started her career at the Bank of England and has worked at the IMF, will also join the Financial Policy Committee and will be part of the executive team charged that runs the Bank, leading a review of the bank’s forecasting process and responsible for "an ambitious new data and analytics strategy".
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “I am delighted to appoint Clare Lombardelli as the next deputy governor for monetary policy at the Bank of England. Clare brings significant experience to the role tackling financial and economic issues both domestically and internationally.”
BoE governor Andrew Bailey welcomed Lombardelli back to the bank saying her "impressive career means she brings a huge amount of relevant experience and expertise to the Monetary Policy Committee, and the Bank more broadly, at a time of great importance for the UK economy".
He said Broadbent "will be missed".
It is "quite a hawkish appointment", said Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordn, given that Lombardelli "was a well-known inflation hawk" within the Treasury in 2021/22 during the debate on transitory inflation.
"At the margin (and only at the margin) this reduces the chances of a rapid BoE easing cycle."
The nine MPC committee members, from 1 July
Andrew Bailey - Governor of the Bank of England
Sarah Breeden - Deputy Governor, Financial Stability
Clare Lombardelli - Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy
Dr Swati Dhingra - External member, Monetary Policy Committee
Megan Greene - External member, Monetary Policy Committee
Jonathan Haskel - External member, Monetary Policy Committee
Catherine L Mann - External member, Monetary Policy Committee
Huw Pill - Chief Economist and Executive Director, Monetary Analysis
Sir Dave Ramsden - Deputy Governor, Markets & Banking