Deputy governor Alexander Demarco has been earmarked to take over from Edward Scicluna as governor of the Central Bank of Malta when the latter retires in December, Times of Malta has reported.

According to the newspaper, three senior government sources confirmed that Demarco would be offered the job, describing him as “a career bureaucrat – a safe, non-controversial choice.”

Demarco, now entering his fourth decade at the Central Bank, was first appointed deputy governor in 2014 and currently oversees the institution’s monetary policy, banking, and financial markets divisions. He temporarily led the bank last year when Scicluna suspended himself amid criminal charges related to the Vitals hospitals deal, before being reinstated in July.

His name has emerged amid speculation that Economy Minister Silvio Schembri might succeed Scicluna — a claim the minister himself has dismissed, saying his sole focus remains on the economy ministry.

Scicluna, 78, will step down at the end of his five-year term in December, bringing to a close a career that saw him serve as finance minister between 2013 and 2020 and as a Member of the European Parliament before that.