NOT JUST SOME EGGHEAD
As head of the Bank of Canada, Carney has made it clear that despite his Goldman Sachs background - or perhaps because of it - he believes banks have acted in questionable ways and he is ready to confront them.
Of all his speeches, the ones to banker audiences on financial reform have been the most sharply worded.
A few months after becoming governor in February 2008, Carney earned the wrath of Canadian bank CEOs by suggesting they were hoarding cash and not lending enough to businesses.
That spat is long forgotten, but Carney locked horns with Dimon at a private bankers' meeting in September and left abruptly, prompting headlines about a walkout. The Bank of Canada said the meeting was running late and he needed to get to another engagement.
And while bankers often disagree with him, they respect his mettle and intellect.
"He would have been less likely to take on Jamie Dimon if he didn't know the way those guys think and if he wasn't able to speak their language," said Ragan. "They can't say, hey you're just some egghead that works in the government."
A source who witnessed how Carney handled the confrontation confirmed Ragan's hunch. "He comes across very well because he is a former private sector financial guy. He understands their perspective," the source said.
Gordon Nixon, the chief executive of Canada's biggest bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, is also a fan.
"I'm very fond of him," Nixon told Reuters. "He's not just respected and admired but he's well liked as an individual... In these roles part of your responsibility is to build consensus and I think Mark brings a real personal strength to that requirement."
Other central bank governors liked Carney enough to appoint him as chair of the very influential Basel committee on global financial stability, notes David Longworth, a deputy governor under Carney until May 2010.
"I think a chair of an international body is always important," said Longworth. "That person helps to set the tone, they help to set the agenda. They, at times, have to be people who will convince others to come on board."
THE DOWNSIDE
But Carney's investment banker hustle and dominant personality have not gone over so well with some at the Bank of Canada, creating friction and bitterness.
Carney completely overhauled the senior ranks of the bank when he took the job, replacing four of five deputy governors who decide interest rates with him. On paper, decisions are made by consensus but privately, officials have reportedly joked that they always "agree" with their boss.
Carney does not suffer fools gladly and finds it hard to hide his annoyance if he dislikes a question. He has a reputation for losing his temper with bank staff, and has been known to yell at employees in front of others for minor missteps in outbursts that may include the "f" word.
In February 2009 when the bank's growth projections were far more upbeat than those of any other forecasters, Liberal legislator John McCallum asked if his outlook went "out on something of an optimistic limb."
"We don't do optimism, we don't do pessimism," Carney snapped in reply. "We do realism at the Bank of Canada. We don't do spin."
Paul Masson, a University of Toronto economist who was special advisor at the bank as Carney took over observed that Carney was "less lenient" with long-winded staff meetings. Carney is focused and informed, so "doesn't need to be told things several times," Masson said.
Carney was so confident in his own abilities that he broke with custom and insisted on writing his own speeches, eschewing feedback, and scaled back internal briefings ahead of public appearances.
His communication skills proved less than ideal when in June 2008 a surprise freeze on interest rates exposed a rare disconnect with a market that had unanimously expected a rate cut. Bank economists and traders were perplexed by the sudden reticence to hint at intentions and put it down to Carney's inexperience in central banking.
His personal life, by comparison, appears simple. He is married with four young daughters and rushes home from international meetings to see the girls before bedtime or attend their soccer matches.
He still has time to run most mornings and last May finished the Ottawa marathon in three hours and 48 minutes.
IT'S AN ASSET, EH?
Being from Canada is an asset for Carney at the FSB, says Canada's banking regulator Julie Dickson, noting that international organizations often look to politically neutral countries to broker deals between the Americans and Europeans. Canada has the added bonus of getting regulation right.
"We don't go in with a lot of baggage, we've had time to reflect as well. When you're in the middle of the crisis as Europe is right now, I think it's a little harder to step back," Dickson said.
Nixon agrees, "Given the way the world has unfolded, I would say that being from Canada is not a negative. I think the world looks at the Canadian marketplace and the governance within the Canadian marketplace in a very positive vein."
Including Carney, Ottawa has three top officials leading committees involved in the global reform process. Dickson chairs the FSB committee on improving supervision and Tiff Macklem, the No. 2 at the Bank of Canada, heads the standards and implementation committee, which is in charge of peer reviews and the "naming and shaming" that may be needed.
Canadian bankers, who have long complained that tougher domestic rules put them at a disadvantage, also welcome the idea of one of their own at the top.
"It would be great for him ... but also good for Canada to have somebody in that role," said Nixon.
read more: Olympus Wealth Management
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