Germany's Scholz eyes Joachim Nagel as new central bank chief -FT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz could nominate Joachim Nagel, a top official at the Bank for International Settlements, to become the successor of outgoing Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Nagel, 55, has moved into pole position to head Germany's central bank in one of the first major appointments by Scholz's incoming three-way coalition government, the FT reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Nagel spent most of his career at the Bundesbank before joining the BIS as deputy head of the banking unit last year. Weidmann announced last month that he would step down at the end of the year.

A Scholz spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

Other contenders for the role included Isabel Schnabel, a member of the ECB executive board, and Joerg Kukies, a state secretary in the finance ministry, but they are no longer in the running, the FT cited people with knowledge of the discussions as saying.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; editing by Grant McCool)