Lawrence Summers made dismissive remarks about the effectiveness of quantitative easing at a conference in April, raising the possibility of a big shift in US monetary policy if he becomes chairman of the Federal Reserve.

“QE in my view is less efficacious for the real economy than most people suppose,” said Mr Summers according to an official summary of his remarks at a conference organised in Santa Monica by Drobny Global, obtained by the Financial Times.

Mr Summers has emerged in recent days as a leading candidate to succeed Ben Bernanke as head of the world’s most important central bank. People briefed on the process say the Obama administration has framed its selection criteria in a way that makes Mr Summers, a former Treasury secretary, the obvious choice.