Bank of England's Spencer Dale leaves Threadneedle Street for BP in shock departure

Dale only took up his financial stability post at the Bank in June

(DAVID SANDISON)

Spencer Dale, the Bank of England’s executive director for financial stability, is set to leave Threadneedle Street to become chief economist of BP.

The departure of Mr Dale, who had been at the Bank for 25 years, comes as a surprise since he only took up his financial stability post in June, after formerly serving six years as chief economist on the Monetary Policy Committee. Mr Dale has been a member of the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee, which is charged with taking early action to extinguish risks to the financial system.

“I will miss the Bank greatly and I wish I could have stayed longer to contribute more. But the opportunity to work in a different environment with one of the UK’s pre-eminent companies was simply too good an opportunity to refuse” said Mr Dale.

The Bank’s Governor, Mark Carney said he had been “privileged” to work with Mr Dale. “He is an immensely talented and committed public servant, who has made significant contributions to monetary and financial stability over the course of his career at the Bank” he said.

The Bank said it will seek a successor to Mr Dale shortly, by advertising both internally and externally. Sam Woods, director of financial stability strategy at the Bank, will oversee Mr Dale’s responsibilities during that time. However, he will not fill Mr Dale’s position on the FPC, which will be kept vacant until a successor is appointed.