The Treasury and the Bank of England (BoE) are in discussions about Mark Carney staying on as governor beyond his present departure date of June 2019.

The main driver for this discussion is that the Treasury is concerned that attempting to find a new governor now, amid the current economic climate and Brexit talks, would prove difficult. It is understood that the Treasury wants to be able to give any new candidate a transparent view of what the relationship with the EU will be like following the UK’s departure from the union.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Carney had stated he intended to step down next year, and that was still the plan.

However, the Treasury ideally would like as long an appointment process as possible and there is belief in Whitehall that Carney is open to staying on for as long as another 12 months, retaining his position as governor until 2020.

In October 2016, Carney announced he would step down in June 2019, one year more than the five he had originally committed to, but two years short of the usual eight-year term that governors serve. Despite this, the governor is due to appear before MPs on the Treasury committee today, 4 September 2018, and will be questioned about his intentions.

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