Italy not yet taking sides between Spanish and Dutch candidates for ECB chief

ROME, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Italy has not yet made a choice between the Spanish and Dutch candidates to replace Christine Lagarde as president of the European Central Bank (ECB), officials from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said on Friday.

Spain has nominated Pablo Hernandez de Cos, the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, while the Netherlands has proposed Klaas Knot, its former central bank chief, to take on Europe's most powerful financial role from February.

The officials said Italy did not have a favourite, adding that the government was assessing the two nominations submitted. The process is a lengthy one and the government will make a carefully considered choice, they added.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Alvise Armellini)