Spain's government has put forward Digital Transformation Minister Jose Luis Escriva as a candidate for central bank governor.

This is according to a report by El País, citing unnamed sources.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's administration and the opposition People’s Party are in discussions to appoint a successor to Pablo Hernandez de Cos. The conservative PP has opposed the government's choice, arguing that candidates for the position should not be current government officials.

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo cancelled a scheduled announcement in parliament on Thursday, where he was set to reveal the next chief of the Bank of Spain, Bloomberg reports.

“The government continues to work with the People’s Party to reach an agreement to name the governor and deputy governor of the Bank of Spain,” the economy ministry said in a statement earlier this week.

De Cos's term expired a month ago, and although acting governor Margarita Delgado can attend European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council meetings, she is not allowed to vote.

Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo refrained from commenting on the potential appointment of Escriva on Thursday.

“We have plenty of time and the maintenance of the adequate and correct functioning of the Bank of Spain is assured,” he said in Madrid.

Several European Central Bank policymakers have held positions as government ministers in the past, including Vice President Luis de Guindos, who was Spain's finance minister in a PP administration before moving directly to Frankfurt.

At the national level, the central bank governors of Portugal, Greece, Slovakia, and Malta all previously served as finance ministers before taking on their current roles.