Lagarde will step down as ECB President on 7 February 2027

Serguey Asael Shinder30 October 2026, 10:231 min read

Christine Lagarde will leave the European Central Bank early. The ECB announced on 29 October that its President had informed the Governing Council and António Costa, President of the European Council, that she will step down on 7 February 2027.

Her successor will be appointed by the European Council following the nomination process in Article 283 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Under that procedure, the Council of the EU recommends a candidate after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB's Governing Council, and EU leaders appoint by qualified majority for a non-renewable eight-year term. The ECB's statement adds that the Governing Council thanked Lagarde and gave her a long standing ovation. It does not give a reason for the departure.

The announcement came on the same day the Governing Council held its key rates, with the deposit rate at 2.50%. Lagarde took office in November 2019, so her eight-year term would have run until late 2027; leaving in February brings the succession forward by about nine months.

The departure follows that of Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel, whose resignation the ECB announced in September. Two of the six Executive Board seats are therefore changing hands within months.

What it means

A shortened timetable means the nomination contest among euro area governments starts now rather than next year, in the middle of an energy shock with policy finely balanced. The appointment requires a political agreement among EU leaders, so the identity and stance of the next President will be the main uncertainty for euro area rates in the first half of 2027. Lagarde has given no reason; reports about her plans are not part of the ECB's statement.