Jason Nissé: Give a finance hot seat to the French and their savoir-faire goes missing

The euro closed on Friday at 1.63 to the pound – nearly 20 per cent below where it was when it launched. There are lots of reasons for this decline: the softness of the German economy; the resilience of the British; the continued interest rate differential; and the ability of the strong dollar to drag sterling towards it (another manifestation of the "special relationship" ... maybe). But a further factor has long weighed on the immature currency: the inability of the European Central Bank to establish its credibility.

Again, there are all sorts of factors behind this: worries that the ECB was essentially the love child of the Bundesbank and the Brussels bureaucracy; the unconvincing style of its chief, Wim Duisenberg (which led him to be nicknamed, unfairly, "Dim Wim"); the ECB's porous security, which led to early leaks (that appear now to have been plugged). But ultimately there was a spectre hanging over the ECB: the deal with the French that meant Jean-Claude Trichet was due to become Governor in 2003.

There are lots of arguments for the Bank of France chief. He is clearly no fool. He knows his way around politics and Brussels in particular. And the old Franco-German pact means he would have the support of the two most powerful economies on the Continent.

But (how can this be put delicately?) he is facing potential criminal charges for his role in the collapse of Crédit Lyonnais, the state-owned bank that went from world power to burnt-out husk in a few years in the early 1990s. The case, the latest in a series of scandals that have exposed the questionable practices of the French ruling elite, has rumbled on for two years. The prosecutors say they need until at least the end of this month to decide whether Mr Trichet should stand trial. With French presidential elections starting later this month, his time is running out. And no bad thing.

Though a man is innocent until proven guilty, the question the French prosecutors are deciding is whether Mr Trichet, in his role overseeing Crédit Lyonnais, was knave or merely naïve. Either way, do you want him running European monetary policy?

But a solution is at hand: Christian Noye. He is currently vice-president of the ECB and is ... er ... well ... French. In the spirit of Michel Camdessus at the IMF, Jean Lemierre at the EBRD and his predecessor, Jacques Attali, there seems to be a need to put French bureaucrats into the world's top finance jobs. I have nothing against Mr Noye personally but the French do not have a good record in running European institutions – think of Jacques Delors or Edith Cresson.

The ECB needs good, strong, independent leadership. Not a French fix.

Bloomin' lucky

Yesterday was the biggest day of gambling Britain has ever seen. I was rather hoping to follow Jonathan Bloomer into a betting shop to see what he was backing in the Grand National, because he is surely one of the luckiest people around.

Having picked up £1.02m last year (including a bonus of £298,000), the Prudential chief executive is now going to participate in a long-term incentive scheme that could see him get £14m in three years' time. Fat cattery? Even the Institute of Directors thinks so.

But this is a cunning plan. The hurdles Mr Bloomer and co have to leap are high enough to ensure that shareholders don't kick up a fuss. As the Pru is a member of both the Association of British Insurers and the National Association of Pension Funds, it should know how to avoid stoking up their ire (though this did not stop the Pru treading on a few toes when it proposed a similar plan six years ago).

In the upside-down world of the City, there is nothing wrong with this new scheme. But hold on. Didn't Mr Bloomer want to buy a large US insurer just before 11 September? And was he not saved by a counter-bid from an even larger US insurer? And without the fee for breaking the merger, would Pru not have had zero earnings per share last year? And how can Mr Bloomer be paid a £298,000 bonus for making no money? At Royal & SunAlliance, where they similarly made no money, no one got a bonus.

The City has seemingly forgiven Mr Bloomer for his role in the demise of Railtrack and forgiven his chairman, Sir Roger Hurn, for his rather larger role in the demise of Marconi. Napoleon said the greatest quality he wanted in his marshals was luck. But would he pay £14m for it?

j.nisse@independent.co.uk