By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – France may support Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos for European Central Bank president as European Union leaders seek agreement on a broader leadership package as soon as this month, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

The potential deal would give Germany the chief economist role and France responsibility for market operations, the FT reported.

Laurence Boone, head of Santander’s corporate and investment banking business in France, led the French shortlist, according to the newspaper.

For the German position, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil opposed potential nominees Markus Brunnermeier, a Princeton University economics professor, and Tobias Adrian, former director of the International Monetary Fund’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, the FT reported.

Appointments will be discussed informally in Dublin on Friday, the newspaper reported. One French official told the paper that Paris would obtain a “good job” on the Executive Board, while another emphasized the need for balanced appointments and a shared vision for the ECB.

Two sources cautioned that negotiations remained unresolved, with former De Nederlandsche Bank President Klaas Knot still in contention for the presidency and a third candidate potentially emerging, according to the FT.