Potential Bank of Canada governor candidate Boivin commits to remain at BlackRock

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) - Potential Bank of Canada governor candidate Jean Boivin plans to stay at BlackRock Inc <BLK.N>, a spokeswoman for the global investment manager said on Thursday.

"Jean is happy at BlackRock and doesn't have any plans to leave," Tracy Truelove, part of the corporate communications team at BlackRock, said in an email to Reuters.

As head of the BlackRock Investment Institute and global head of research at BlackRock, Boivin's wide range of experience and macroeconomic pedigree were seen by strategists as a potential asset for the Bank of Canada in the current period of economic stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Boivin is a former deputy governor of the central bank.

Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins has been seen by market participants as the front-runner to succeed Poloz.

A new governor is slated to take the reins on June 3 when current Governor Stephen Poloz ends his seven-year tenure. The central bank's board oversees the selection process, but the prime minister and the finance minister have the final say.

They have been busy rolling out economic aid packages, while the Bank of Canada has slashed interest rates by 150 basis points since March and has begun its first quantitative easing program, buying Government of Canada securities on a large scale. It has also introduced a wide range of other measures to support the functioning of financial markets.

Other leading candidates include Tiff Macklem, a former senior deputy governor and now dean of a top Canadian business school, as well as Deputy Governor Paul Beaudry, who helps oversee the central bank's analysis and activities in promoting a stable and efficient financial system.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Peter Cooney)