The announcement of Klaas Knot’s successor as president of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is delayed. Knot will be leaving on July 1st, but there is still no white smoke regarding his successor.
In the search for a new DNB president, the Ministry of Finance keeps a close eye on the entire process, and the minister ultimately presents a candidate to the Council of Ministers for approval.
“We are confident that the announcement of who it is will be made before July 1st and that there will be a good new president,” says a spokesperson for the ministry. The Ministry of Finance points out that the appointment is a very careful process, in which the Council of Ministers not only agrees with the person, but also with their remuneration. “That is one of the reasons why it takes so long.”
An exception is made to the so-called Balkenende norm – the maximum amount that senior officials in the (semi)public sector may earn – for the remuneration of the DNB president. This has been set at just under 250,000 euros for this year, while the current DNB president earned about twice that last year.
The Ministry of Finance consults with the Ministry of the Interior about the remuneration of the future DNB president. “That is a separate item on the agenda.” A spokesperson for DNB is not very talkative about the state of affairs regarding Knot’s succession. “During the process, we will not make any announcements about it. And that still applies.”
Delay in announcement leads to nervousness in the financial world
Before Knot was appointed, there was a lot of fuss about who should succeed his predecessor Nout Wellink. Then names were also leaked. That has not happened explicitly now, but there are sounds that people in the financial world are getting nervous now that it is taking so long for the name to come out.
The appointment of Knot, who took office on July 1, 2011, was announced on May 20 of that year.