Spain may not have new central bank governor by July 18 ECB meet, economy minister says

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Thursday a new central bank governor may not be appointed in time to represent Spain at the next European Central Bank monetary policy meeting on July 18.

Deputy governor Margarita Delgado, who does not have voting rights, would attend the monetary policy meeting if the government has not made a decision on who to appoint to the Bank of Spain's top job, Cuerpo told reporters.

Late last month, Cuerpo had said a newly appointed governor would attend the July 18 meeting.

The Spanish government is currently negotiating with opposition conservative People's Party (PP) to appoint a governor and a deputy governor.

The talks are part of broader negotiations that include appointments of many top state jobs such as the anti-trust watchdog and the stock market supervisor. An agreement was reached two weeks ago over the judicial system's governing body.

Cuerpo declined to comment on how the talks are going and who the potential candidates are.

The term of the previous central bank chief Pablo Hernandez de Cos expired last month and Delgado's term is set to expire in September.

(Reporting by Belen Carreño and Inti Landauro; Editing by Toby Chopra)