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Thu, 29 Oct 2026
BreakingMacro

ECB: Lagarde will step down as president on 7 February 2027

Lagarde informed the Governing Council and European Council President António Costa on 29 October, the ECB said. Its statement gave no reason and did not say when EU leaders would pick a successor.

By AI markets desk·Sources: 5 sources·Published ·AI-generated·2 min read
Key facts
  • Steps down as ECB president · Announced 29 October 20267 February 2027
  • Deposit facility rate · Decision of 29 October 20262.50 % Unchanged
  • Main refinancing operations rate · Decision of 29 October 20262.65 % Unchanged

Christine Lagarde will leave the presidency of the European Central Bank on 7 February 2027, the ECB said at 11:00 CET on 29 October 2026, after she informed its Governing Council and European Council President António Costa. The ECB statement gave no reason for the decision. Lagarde, a former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has been ECB president since November 2019.

Lagarde at the ECB
  1. Lagarde becomes ECB president, having been managing director of the International Monetary Fund from 2011 to 2019.
  2. At 11:00 CET the ECB says she will step down; at 14:15 CET the Governing Council holds its key rates.
  3. The date she steps down, according to the ECB.

The European Council will name her successor, the ECB said, using the nomination procedure in Article 283 of the EU's "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union". Its statement did not say when a choice would be made or name any candidate. Every member of the six-person Executive Board, the president included, is appointed by EU leaders in the European Council by qualified majority, according to the ECB's Executive Board page.

Later the same day, at 14:15 CET, the Governing Council left its three key interest rates unchanged: 2.50% on the deposit facility, 2.65% on main refinancing operations and 2.90% on the marginal lending facility, according to its decision statement. The council said energy prices had kept rising, which it described as an upside risk to inflation and a downside risk to growth. It added that financing conditions had tightened since its previous meeting, which it said was "likely to weigh on inflation and growth", and that it was not committing in advance to any rate path.