On Thursday, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, announced that she would be stepping down from her post.
She will step down on 7 February.
“I have just informed my colleagues that I will be stepping down as President of the ECB on 7 February 2027. It has been a great honour for me to serve at this institution,” Lagarde wrote on social media platform X.
According to Lagarde, she is leaving “with a sense of a job well done”, and the ECB is ready for the challenges ahead.
As Reuters notes, the resignation comes against a backdrop of inflationary risks linked to an oil shock caused by the situation surrounding Iran. At the same time, a sharp rise in bond yields, particularly in France, threatens to slow economic growth.
A source at the agency familiar with the situation reported that Lagarde had resigned in order to be able to speak out on political issues — both in France, where she is from, and on the international stage. As head of the ECB, she was required to remain neutral in order to ensure the institution’s independence.
The President of the European Council, António Costa, stated that the search for Lagarde’s successor would begin immediately. Among the leading candidates are the former governors of the central banks of the Netherlands and Spain, Klaas Knot and Pablo Hernández de Cos.