‘Ayatollah of franc’ takes reins at ECB

PRESIDENT elect of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet’s singled mindedness on stability once resulted in him being dubbed the “ayatollah of the strong franc.”

Bank of France governor Trichet, who was appointed the second president of the ECB yesterday, will take over the Frankfurt-based ECB when Wim Duisenberg retires on November 1, after EU leaders agreed Mr Trichet’s appointment in Brussels.

Mr Duisenberg is fulfilling a 1998 pledge, that he made under pressure from France, to cut short his eight-year term as the bank’s first leader.