Chile's Ministry of Finance announced that the Senate approved, by 31 votes in favour and two abstentions, the nomination of Kevin Cowan as a new board member of the Central Bank of Chile. The vote ratified President Gabriel Boric’s proposal to replace board member and current central bank vice-president Stephany Griffith Jones, whose term ends on 24 December 2025. Finance Minister Nicolás Grau told the Senate Finance Committee that the nomination sought to preserve the tradition of technical expertise and knowledge of the economic policies associated with central bank decision-making, highlighting Cowan’s technical and financial-sector credentials. Cowan described the central bank’s credibility and timely decisions, citing the post-COVID inflation response, as an asset to preserve. His background includes degrees in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and roles spanning the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Chile’s Financial Policy Division, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Financial Market Commission. Under the Organic Constitutional Law of the Central Bank of Chile, board members are appointed by the President of the Republic through a supreme decree of the Ministry of Finance after Senate approval, serving 10-year terms with staggered renewals.

Original source View in tracker