Portugal picks OECD's Santos Pereira to replace Centeno as central bank chief

By Sergio Goncalves

LISBON (Reuters) -The Portuguese government nominated on Thursday Alvaro Santos Pereira, the chief economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, as the next central bank governor to succeed Mario Centeno, whose term formally ended on July 19.

The decision to nominate Santos Pereira, who served as economy minister in a centre-right government in 2011-2013 at the height of Portugal's debt crisis and austerity dictated by an international bailout, was announced by Cabinet Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro after a weekly cabinet meeting.

The nominee must submit to questioning by a parliamentary committee - which has no power to block the nomination - before the government can officially appoint him. It is not uncommon for heads of regulatory bodies in Portugal to remain in office months after their terms expire.

Centeno, who was open to serving a second term, has been the target of frequent criticism from the political right, now in power, for moving from his role as finance minister in a previous Socialist administration to the central bank in 2020, a move detractors said undermined the institution's independence.

Centeno, who was Eurogroup president in 2018-2020, has been a vocal so-called dove favouring looser monetary policy at the European Central Bank.

As the OECD's chief economist, Santos Pereira, 53, has been tasked with designing ways for the group of 38 developed countries and their partners to promote long-term economic growth.

Leitao Amaro said that Santos Pereira "has a profound understanding of the Portuguese and international economy and the financial system ... and is a highly regarded and independent voice in his field internationally."

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Andrei Khalip, editing by David Latona)