Shuffling chairs at the ECB

The staff wheel is spinning merrily

The past year and a half has already been turbulent for the ECB in terms of personnel. There were a total of eight new members joining the 27-member Governing Council. Leaders changed at a total of seven national central banks, and in January, another central bank governor was added with Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone.

In the coming months through the end of 2027, it will be the ECB Executive Board’s turn. The terms of three of the six directors will end, although President Lagarde and Director Schnabel could step down before the official end of their terms. It was reported and confirmed by the ECB yesterday that Schnabel will join the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in early January to head the Department of Monetary and Capital Markets. This raises the question of which fundamental monetary policy tilt—more dovish or more hawkish—the ECB will take under new leadership. The three positions that will become vacant are of particular interest to member countries because they can decisively steer the Governing Council and, thus, monetary policy. After the president, the position for market operations—currently held by Schnabel—is considered, alongside that of the chief economist, to be the most powerful and operationally influential department within the European Central Bank.

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