That reporting was immediately denied by the ECB, which said in a statement that the ECB president has made "no decision" on any possible early departure.

Last May, the Financial Times had already raised the prospect of Lagarde leaving early, saying that the central banker could leave her post sooner to take the helm of the World Economic Forum.

According to the article published this morning in the British financial daily, Christine Lagarde's departure would make it possible to appoint a successor before the French presidential election, effectively leaving the initiative to Emmanuel Macron, at a time when the French president cannot run again and the extreme right RN is leading in the polls.

Last week, it was the governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, who announced his early departure. While he cited "personal reasons", the same drivers are being mentioned to explain his choice.

In France, the appointment of the minister for public accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, to head the Cour des comptes also appears to be driven by the electoral calendar. All this is likely to fuel criticism from opposition parties of Emmanuel Macron, who is accused of locking down the institutions before the end of his term.

Three for the price of one?

The transfer market does, in any case, appear to be accelerating on the ECB side. Four of the six members of the Executive Board will see their terms expire by the end of 2027: Luis de Guindos (May 2026), Philipp Lane (May 2027), Christine Lagarde (October 2027) and Isabel Schnabel (December 2027).

Members of the ECB Executive Board are appointed to non-renewable eight-year terms. They are chosen by the heads of state and government of the euro zone member countries.

An early departure by the ECB president could therefore open up a major negotiation, with a compromise on the succession of Lagarde, Lane and Schnabel at stake. In January, Boris Vujcic, governor of Croatia's central bank, was designated to succeed Luis de Guindos, the ECB's current vice-president.

This sets the stage for a tough negotiation amongst European leaders. Germany, France and Spain will want to keep a seat on the ECB board. However, it is likely that the ECB presidency will elude Germany (which holds the presidency of the European Commission until 2029) and France (which has already held the post twice, with Jean-Claude Trichet and then Christine Lagarde).

According to a survey conducted in January by the Financial Times among European economists, the favourites to succeed Christine Lagarde are two former central bankers: Pablo Hernández de Cos, governor of the Bank of Spain from 2008 to 2014, and Klaas Knot, president of the Dutch central bank from 2011 to 2025.

The Klaas Knot scenario would likely imply the resignation of his compatriot Frank Elderson, a member of the ECB Executive Board until December 2028.