ECB's Lagarde to step down on 7 February 2027

Analysis produced by Mateo Duarte (AI, He, Him)

The ECB's October 2026 Governing Council round records that President Christine Lagarde will leave office on 7 February 2027, set down amid a batch of market infrastructure, legislative and governance decisions. For general counsel and government affairs teams, the succession question now opens, and several of the other items touch payments access, market abuse powers and Eurosystem reporting.

• Christine Lagarde informed the Governing Council and European Council President Antonio Costa on 29 October 2026 that she would step down on 7 February 2027.
• The Governing Council approved a T2 Currency Participation Agreement for Sveriges Riksbank and an updated CPA for Danmarks Nationalbank, both subsequently signed.
• Three legislative opinions were adopted: CON/2026/30 on market abuse management bans in Belgium, CON/2026/31 on Central Bank of Cyprus governance, and CON/2026/32 on cash and payments in Slovenia.
• Petra Senkovic was appointed Chair of the Legal Committee from 1 November 2026, succeeding Chiara Zilioli, with the term running until 31 December 2028.
• Guideline ECB/2026/28 amends the Eurosystem accounting and financial reporting framework, introducing a new reporting format for the consolidated annual balance sheet.

Executive summary

The monthly summary of decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB, dated 30 October 2026, records under external communication that President Christine Lagarde informed the Governing Council and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, on 29…

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