The Canada Brief

Economy · 6 d ago

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde resigns

Feb

7

Sunday

European Central Bank, Frankfurt

Lagarde will step down on Feb 7, leaving EU leaders time to pick a successor before France's presidential election. Her term was due to run to the end of October 2027.

She leaves as the bank raises rates against an Iran-driven oil shock while French borrowing costs sit at some of their highest in a quarter-century. The bank is expected to hold its deposit rate at 2.5 per cent on Thursday.

Former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot and ex-Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernández de Cos are seen as frontrunners to succeed her. Markets barely moved on the news.