What happened
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde will step down from her position on 7 February 2027. On 29 October 2026 she informed the ECB’s Governing Council and European Council President António Costa of her decision, the ECB said on 30 October 2026.
The Governing Council is the ECB’s main decision-making body. It sets interest rates, but the announcement came in the ECB’s regular list of other decisions, which does not cover rate-setting. The ECB said a related press release was published on its website the same day.
Other decisions in the October 2026 list
- Payments infrastructure: On 21 October 2026 the Governing Council approved a T2 Currency Participation Agreement for Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. T2 is the Eurosystem’s payment settlement service. The approval followed a positive assessment by the Market Infrastructure Board. An updated agreement for Danmarks Nationalbank, Denmark’s central bank, was also approved, and both were signed.
- Legal opinions: The Council adopted three opinions requested by national authorities. One, adopted on 1 October at the request of Belgium’s finance minister, concerns powers to ban people from management roles in credit institutions under the market abuse regulation. Another, adopted on 8 October at the request of the Central Bank of Cyprus, concerns its governance and conflict of interest rules. A third, also adopted on 8 October at the request of Slovenia’s finance ministry, concerns the right to use cash, access to cash and free payment services.
- Accounting: On 22 October 2026 the Council adopted Guideline ECB/2026/28. It introduces a new format for the Eurosystem’s consolidated annual balance sheet, with changes to how items under “Sundry”, “Reserves”, “Accumulated losses carried forward” and “Profit/(loss) for the year” are categorised. The ECB says this improves transparency about the Eurosystem’s financial performance.
- Appointment: On 29 October 2026 the Council named Petra Senkovic, the ECB’s Director General Legal Services, as Chair of the Legal Committee (LEGCO) from 1 November 2026. She succeeds Chiara Zilioli, who is retiring. The term runs until 31 December 2028.
- Cooperation programme: On 8 October 2026 the Council supported extending a European System of Central Banks programme for the Western Balkans to the central banks of Moldova and Ukraine. The programme is coordinated by the Deutsche Bundesbank and financed by the European Commission. It involves 21 national central banks, and its third phase began in 2026 for three years.
What it means for you
The ECB’s notice states only the date of Lagarde’s departure. It does not say who will succeed her or how the process will work, and it does not change any interest rate. Nothing in it alters current policy.
If you hold euro assets, send money to or from the euro area, or follow global rates, the leadership change is one to watch. The other items are mostly technical and affect how the Eurosystem runs its payments, accounts and legal work rather than household finances.
Background
The ECB publishes these lists of Governing Council decisions alongside its rate decisions. Recent ECB coverage on this site includes euro area consumers’ inflation expectations and the digital euro pilot planned for 2027. If you move money across currencies, our currency converter can help with a quick check.
