The news reported in the media this morning about the selection process for Head of the Economics and Research Department contains various omissions and inaccuracies which should be clarified.

The Board of Directors of Banco de Portugal decided to launch a public invitation for the position of Head of the Economics and Research Department, for which it defined various criteria. A number of internal and external candidates submitted responses.

The applications were assessed by an independent selection panel comprising five individuals (chairman, three external members and an internal member) and tasked with presenting an unranked shortlist of candidates to the Board of Directors.

After consideration of the selection panel's report, the Board of Directors decided that despite the individual merits of the proposed candidates, none combined all the attributes of leadership and team management needed to achieve a more ambitious strategic positioning of the department at analytical and institutional level, and therefore decided to close the recruitment process.

Banco de Portugal, 12 December 2013