Dark horse joins Bank race

THERE should be no doubt that, if Andrew Crockett were to be offered the next Governorship of the Bank of England, he would accept it.

His surprise decision to step down as general manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basle - a job that made him the most senior British financial official overseas - plainly clears the path for his elevation. On the other hand, when he gives up the post he has held for nine years next March, he could become chairman of almost any commercial bank in the world.

Crockett, 59, an unpretentious, relaxed Scot, is always mildly surprised when his name is linked with a top post. Until very recently, he assumed that he had been out of Britain for too long to be considered for the Old Lady and that others - Deputy Bank Governor Mervyn King and Financial Services Authority chief Sir Howard Davies - had jumped ahead of him.

He assumed that his big chance to work with a Labour government went with the late John Smith, to whom he was an adviser and friend. More recently, though, Crockett has been able to do a job of work for Smith's protege, Gordon Brown, heading a global financial stability forum in which, ironically, Davies and King have worked closely with him.

Of the three candidates, he would undoubtedly bring the broadest experience to the job. He is a renowned monetary expert, held a senior economic post at the IMF and was International Director of the Bank of England before going off to Basle. There he played host to an emergent European Central Bank and became the first financial leader to recognise a new world order in economic affairs. The choice of Governor is a tricky one because it is generally made by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Chancellor.

Mrs Thatcher was the exception; she chose the relatively obscure Robin Leigh-Pemberton (now Lord Kingsdown) when he was on nobody's list except her own.

Crockett has the advantage of having run the 'central bankers' club' and is liked on Threadneedle Street. He also carries little of the single currency political baggage of other candidates. His odds are narrowing rapidly at the bookies.

Laxey shoots wide

ONE company where the corporate governance questions are failing to go away is at British Land. This is largely because of the persistent and over-personalised criticism from Laxey Partners.

Clearly, there is need of change in the shape of some genuine independent directors. Moreover, BL, like some of its peers in the property sector, should have given more consideration to share buybacks to narrow the gap between the share price and its assets. That said and done, John Ritblat and company took a second-rate property company and built it into a stellar FTSE performer that is up there in size with the old dowager, Land Securities.

To suggest that 'connections' are somehow wrong in the City is to misunderstand the whole basis of how finance works. The most blue-blooded of City houses, Cazenove, has been staffed by generations of the same family. GUS and, latterly, Next prospered under the tutelage of the Wolfson clan and so on.

Laxey would be better targeting some of the real basket cases such as Telewest or Energis.

M&S switch

THE expected changing of the guard at Marks & Spencer is not bringing rapturous applause in the City where the shares slipped 12p to 370p.

This is bizarre since the great corporate governance complaint about M&S has been the refusal, until now, by chairman Luc Vandevelde to split his chairman and executive roles. One of the fears must be that Vandevelde, having done his job and survived the storms of the last year, is planning to swim off into the sunset, leaving the less experienced Roger Holmes on the bridge as chief executive.

This is a remarkable turn of events. Not so long ago, there were nothing but complaints over the decision to recruit an unknown Belgian with little knowledge of the unique place of M&S in our national life.

There are no such arguments now. Vandevelde has put in place a keener and younger management, shortened the chain of command, brightened the merchandise and is now shaking up financial services and homewear. So he is now rather a hero and the City seems a little concerned that he is leaving the children in charge. That is unlikely. It should be seen as a sign of confidence that Vandevelde is now ready to step back.

If some of his predecessors had had similar foresight, M&S might have avoided the crisis of confidence in the late 1990s.