Conservatives want Sants as Bank deputy

The Conservative party would want to appoint the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, Hector Sants, to become a deputy governor of the Bank of England, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The party, which is widely expected to win the election next year, has said it wants to abolish the FSA and hand its banking supervisory powers to the Bank within its first year in office. Citing people familiar with the situation, the paper said Conservative party officials had been in talks with Sants in recent weeks.

A spokesman for shadow chacellor George Osborne rejected the report. "We are not lining up anyone. There's an election to be won first" he told Reuters. The Bank declined to comment.

The central bank has two deputy governors: for monetary policy and financial stability. They are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.