There is currently speculation that ECB President Christine Lagarde will leave her post early.Image: keystone
Feb 18, 2026, 1:58 p.mFeb 18, 2026, 1:58 p.m
Is ECB President Christine Lagarde leaving her post early? A report from the Financial Times gives new fuel to speculation that already existed in 2025.
Accordingly, Lagarde wants to leave the European Central Bank (ECB) before the French presidential election, which is scheduled to take place in April 2027. The background is apparently concerns that right-wing populists could have great influence after the elections in France and that the replacement of the top of the ECB could become more complicated.
When asked, a spokeswoman for the central bank in Frankfurt said: “President Lagarde is fully focused on her task and has not yet made a decision about the end of her term of office.” The wording differs from previous statements from the ECB: last year it was said that Lagarde was “determined to complete her term of office”.
Lagarde took office as the successor to the Italian Mario Draghi on November 1, 2019. The President of the ECB is appointed for eight years. Lagarde will therefore be in office until the end of October 2027.
Brussels personal poker for the top of the ECB
The appointment of the top ECB positions is part of a personnel poker in Brussels. The decision lies with the Euro states. The “Financial Times” refers to a person who is said to be familiar with Lagarde’s considerations. Accordingly, the Frenchwoman wants to enable the outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron and Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to decide the successor to the top post at one of the most important institutions in the euro area before the election in France. The newspaper writes that it is still unclear when Lagarde will resign from her position.
Two German central bankers have also discussed Lagarde’s successor: Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel. According to the FT, the favorites are the former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and the Spaniard Pablo Hernández de Cos, currently head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Bank, doesn’t see the chances for Germany as bad at all. Since the ECB has already had two French presidents, the chances of a third are “almost zero,” so the race for the top spot at the central bank is limited to Germany and Spain. (hkl/sda/awp/dpa)