He's been called the rock star banker. Mark Carney's accessibility and acumen were lauded when he became Governor of the Bank of England in 2013, writes London Correspondent Fiona Mitchell.
The first non-British person to hold the role, Mr Carney travelled to his first day on the job on London’s underground system. When even your commute garners headlines, you know your every move will be watched and analysed.
In his initial months in office, many believed he had the "luck of the Irish". The Canadian native has held an Irish passport for over two decades now. But recent events suggested that if his luck hadn't run out, it had certainly waned.
All talk lately has been of a potential "resignation". In fact, Mark Carney had always said he did not intend to serve the normal eight year term as governor. He would instead most likely leave after five. That would have brought his his term to an end in 2018.
A few months ago he promised a statement on his future before the end of this year.
With Christmas illuminations starting to appear across the City of London, the question became would Mr Carney shine a light on whether he'd proceed with his original plan or take the option of extending to the full term and stay until 2021?
Announcing his decision, Mr Carney managed to meet the speculation in the middle. He will stay longer than originally intended, but only by one year, stepping down in 2019.
The almost insatiable appetite for information about his contractual status stemmed from two things - firstly, the uncertainty which remains around Brexit plans, and secondly, the difficult political situation in which Carney finds himself.
The speech by British Prime Minister Theresa May at the recent Conservative Party Conference put her at odds with the governor.
After she criticised the "bad side effects" of the Bank of England policy on quantitative easing, Mr Carney responded by saying he would not "take instruction" from politicians adding that "objectives are what are set by politicians. The policies are done by technocrats."
Ms May's comments provided comfort to the pro-Brexit wing of her party, whose visceral dislike of Mr Carney is well known.
The governor was seen by Brexiteers to have entered the political fray - and overstepped the boundaries of his role - during the hugely divisive EU referendum vote.
Clashes between Mr Carney and Conservative MP and pro-Brexit support Jacob Rees-Mogg during the campaign provided some of the most electric exchanges of the debate.
Mr Rees-Mogg insisted the governor's interjections were "speculative and beneath the dignity of the Bank of England".
Post-Brexit, the relationship has improved little.
Brexiteers point out that the warnings from the governor have not been borne out in the months after the result. At best, they say, his judgement was poor, and at worst he was a central player in "Project Fear".
Pro-EU supporters point out that in the hours after the seismic decision, the leading lights of the Leave campaign were nowhere to be seen.
It was instead Mr Carney trying to calm markets and halt the slide in the pound. He was "the adult in the room" as one Remain campaigner recently described it.
But if Leave campaigners were reeling with shock from their unexpected win in the days after the vote, they have regained their footing now, and want to ensure that everyone central to the process has joined up to the Project Brexit. They do not believe this of Mr Carney.
His departure in 2019 means Brexit negotiations are likely to have just been completed or be in the final stages. Mr Carney said his decision "recognised the importance to the country of continuity" during the talks and "should help contribute to securing an orderly transition to the UK’s new relationship with Europe".
But it means that a new governor will be overseeing the full transition into that new relationship, and whatever it might bring. Expect speculation about a potential successor to start straight away.
In the meantime, Mr Carney will be stuck with the rush hour crowds on the Central line for a little longer.
