Britain's government will not name a successor to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney before a national election due on Dec. 12, a finance ministry official said.

Earlier on Thursday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the process for the appointment remained on track to be made this autumn.

The BoE's current governor, Mark Carney, is due to leave the central bank on Jan. 31, which is also the latest deadline for Britain to leave the European Union.

By convention, British governments do not make major appointments in the run-up to elections.

Finance Minister Sajid Javid said earlier this month that he was looking for an independent-minded new BoE governor.