Canadian named as Britain central bank governor

Mark Carney, the current governor of the Bank of Canada, will take over as governor of Britain's central bank from mid next year as current Governor Mervyn King finishes his eight-year term on June 30 2013. The 47-year-old Canadian will apply for British citizenship in order to take the job. British chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne told the Parliament that Carney brought the "strong leadership and external experience the bank needs." The Bank of England is mainly responsible for setting benchmark interest rates and will also shoulder some regulatory powers as the British government has decided to reform its financial watchdog Financial Services Authority by handing some of its responsibilities to the central bank. The BBC reported Carney would receive a total pay and pension package worth about 624,000 pounds (999,240 U.S. dollars) a year, including an annual salary of 480,000 pounds.