FRANKFURT – European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is planning to step down from her position before the end of her eight-year term, according to a report in the Financial Times, a move that comes as investors digest the latest signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve and navigate shifting economic conditions.
The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Lagarde intends to exit her post before the 2027 French presidential election, though the ECB has stated no final decision has been made. Lagarde assumed the presidency in November 2019, succeeding Mario Draghi, and has since overseen a period of aggressive monetary tightening in 2022 and 2023 to combat surging inflation across the Eurozone.
With inflation now nearing the ECB’s 2% target and expectations for interest rates to remain stable through 2026, Lagarde may be preparing to depart the central bank during a period of relative calm. According to the ECB’s website, Lagarde also currently chairs the European Systemic Risk Board and is a member of the Board of Directors at the Bank for International Settlements, as well as participating in the G7 and G20.
The potential shift in leadership at the ECB comes as markets also react to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting. The Fed held interest rates steady at that meeting, following a series of cuts in prior months. The minutes are expected to reinforce the Fed’s commitment to a data-dependent approach, evaluating the need for further rate adjustments.
Meanwhile, domestic developments in Brazil saw the dollar rise against the real on Wednesday, following the news of Lagarde’s potential departure and the release of the Fed meeting minutes. The dollar closed at R$5.240 in sales.
In Brazil, investors are also responding to news that the Central Bank has ordered the extrajudicial liquidation of Banco Pleno, and to a partial veto by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of a law that would have adjusted salaries for employees of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, and the Federal Court of Accounts.
In September 2025, Lagarde warned that any attempt to undermine the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve would pose a “very serious danger” to the global economy, particularly in light of repeated attacks on the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, by former President Donald Trump. She emphasized the difficulty, in practice, of a president exerting direct control over the Fed’s policies.