Canadian banker Mark Carney was named yesterday as the next Governor of the Bank of England.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the appointment of Mr Carney – currently governor of the Bank of Canada and chair of the global Financial Stability Board –in a statement to the House of Commons.

He will take over from present governor Sir Mervyn King when his second five-year term of office draws to an end on June 30 next year.

As governor, Mr Carney will have responsibility for setting interest rates, regulating banks and other financial firms, and heading a new committee designed to spot and ward off future crises.

The job is considered to be one of the most powerful in Britain, with the Bank of England taking on extra responsibilities for banking supervision as part of an overhaul of financial regulation following the economic crisis.

Mr Carney is the first governor in the Bank’s history to be appointed after an open recruitment process, in which the role was advertised and candidates interviewed by a panel. Mr Osborne said he had recommended Mr Carney to Prime Minister David Cameron, who in turn recommended him to the Queen for appointment.

The Chancellor told MPs that Mr Carney was “the outstanding central banker of his generation with unparalleled expertise in financial regulation”.