Frank Elderson

Frank Elderson is a Dutch lawyer and central banker who currently serves as executive board member of the European Central Bank since December 2020, succeeding Yves Mersch.[1][2][3][4]

Frank Elderson
Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 December 2020
Preceded by	Yves Mersch
Personal details
Born	18 May 1970 Utrecht
Nationality	Dutch

Before joining the ECB, Elderson has been an executive director of supervision at De Nederlandsche Bank since 1 July 2011, and was ex-officio member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank.[5] Elderson played a key role in the creation of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) which he is current chair.

Education and career

Elderson completed the first year of the Dutch law university programme with honours in 1990 and studied at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, in 1993 and 1994. Elderson earned his degree in Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam in 1994.

In 2015, Elderson obtained an LLM degree from Columbia Law School, in the United States, and was sworn in as a lawyer in the Netherlands on the same year. Elderson subsequently started his professional career as a lawyer with Houthoff Advocaten & Notarissen.

Work at the Dutch central bank (1999 - 2020)

In 1999, Frank Elderson joined the Dutch National Bank (DNB) where he held various management positions in the Legal Services Division, as well as representing DNB on various working groups of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). He was appointed Executive Director of Supervision in 2011, where he was responsible for supervision of banks, horizontal functions and integrity supervision, and legal affairs. In this capacity, he is also member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank.

European Central Bank (2020 - )

In October 2020, he was proposed by the Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra to succeed to Yves Mersch as executive board member of the European Central Bank.

In competition with the Slovenian candidate Boštjan Jazbec,[6] the Eurogroup approved Elderson's nomination. Despite concerns by MEPs[7][8] over the lack of female members in the ECB's governing council, Elderson's nomination was eventually approved by the European Parliament's ECON Committee[9] and by the plenary chamber of the European Parliament.[10][11] His appointment was subsequently confirmed by the European Council.[12]

In 2020, he was appointed by the Eurogroup as one of the six members of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank to succeed Yves Mersch[1][2][3][4] Elderson is likely to become the Vice-chair of the Supervisory board of the ECB.[13]

Climate finance

Frank Elderson has been playing a leading role in the debate on the role of central banks for addressing climate change,[14][15] making the Dutch National Bank a leading player in this domain. In 2016, he founded and chaired the Sustainable Finance Platform, a forum hosted by the Dutch national bank gathering central bankers, government officials and civils society groups.[16][17]

In 2017, Elderson was appointed first chair of the Network for Greening the Financial System, a forum launched by 8 central banks (including the DNB) and financial authorities at the “One Planet Summit” in December 2017.[18] The NGFS aims to "help strengthening the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to enhance the role of the financial system to manage risks and to mobilize capital for green and low-carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development. To this end, the Network defines and promotes best practices to be implemented within and outside of the Membership of the NGFS and conducts or commissions analytical work on green finance."[19][20][21]

Since its creation, the NGFS has since grown its membership to 83 members, and include the IMF and the Bank for International Settlements as observers, and the US Federal Reserve.[22] Elderson was re-appointed chair for another two years term in September 2020.[23]

Personal life

Elderson is married and has two daughters.[24]

References

1. "Le néerlandais Frank Elderson choisi pour le directoire de la BCE". Les Echos (in French). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
2. "Euro ministers pick Dutchman Frank Elderson for ECB board job". Reuters. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
3. "ECB Executive Board: Eurogroup gives support to Frank Elderson's candidacy". www.consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
4. Reuters Staff (28 October 2020). "ECB has no objection to Elderson's appointment to board". Reuters. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
5. "Frank Elderson - De Nederlandsche Bank". www.dnb.nl. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
6. "Statement by President Donohoe on the candidates for the post of ECB executive board member". www.consilium.europa.eu (in French). Retrieved 21 November 2020.
7. "POLITICO EU Influence: Budget errors — Climate disclosure deficit — Defending Mercosur". POLITICO. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
8. "EU urged to 'do more' to promote gender equality in distribution of top jobs". The Parliament Magazine. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
9. "EU parliament committee backs Elderson for ECB board". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
10. "Frank Elderson recommended as member of European Central Bank Executive Board | News | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
11. "Europarlement akkoord met benoeming Elderson bij ECB". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 November 2020.
12. "European Central Bank: Frank Elderson appointed member of the executive board". www.consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
13. "Onze man in Frankfurt: 'groene' centrale bankier Elderson op weg naar de ECB". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 21 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
14. "The world must seize this opportunity to meet the climate challenge | Andrew Bailey and others". the Guardian. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
15. "The financial sector must be at the heart of tackling climate change". the Guardian. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
16. "Sustainable Finance Platform - De Nederlandsche Bank". www.dnb.nl. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
17. "How the Dutch central bank is putting its weight behind sustainable finance". Responsible Investor. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
18. "Joint statement by the Founding Members of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System – One Planet Summit". Banque de France. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
19. "Origin and purpose". www.ngfs.net. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
20. "Can central bankers turn finance green?". Central Banking. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
21. "Greening the financial system : a new mission for central banks". www.novethic.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
22. Lane, Sylvan (15 December 2020). "Fed joins global network to fight climate change through financial system". TheHill. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
23. "Press release" (PDF). www.ngfs.net. 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
24. "DRAFT REPORT on the Council recommendationon the appointment of a Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank" (PDF). www.europarl.europa.eu. 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.