JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet plans to vote on Sunday on the nomination of Amir Yaron for Bank of Israel governor, the prime minister's office said on Thursday.
Israeli-born Yaron, 54, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and who has lived in the United States for two decades, was chosen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month. [nL8N1WP2QH]
He would succeed Karnit Flug, whose five-year term concluded earlier this week. Deputy governor Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg has assumed duties as acting governor.
Yaron last week cleared a key hurdle by receiving approval from a special government vetting committee, which said they did not find any flaws with Yaron's character.
The cabinet is widely expected to approve the nomination, making him governor at a pivotal time for Israel's economy, which is growing at a solid annual pace of about 3.5 percent.
With inflation now inside the government's target of 1 to 3 percent, policymakers are forecast to start raising interest rates sometime in the first quarter of 2019.
The next rates decision is slated for Nov. 26.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Gareth Jones)