The European Central Bank’s (ECB) staff committee has urged its leadership to clarify whether president Christine Lagarde will leave before the end of her term, warning that “prolonged uncertainty” risks damaging trust in the institution.

In a letter to the ECB’s executive board, staff representatives warned that instability could “affect trust in the ECB’s communications, create concern among staff and stakeholders, and complicate the orderly planning of leadership succession and strategic priorities”.

The intervention reflects tensions between staff and the ECB’s leadership over internal governance. Lagarde has publicly stated that she will stay until 2027 but repeatedly avoided any commitment to finish her eight-year term, which expires in October 2027.

She told journalists last week that there was “nothing to report” about her future. An ECB spokesperson said it had ‘‘long-established institutional governance arrangements and great depth of expertise to ensure that it operates smoothly during periods of transition, and past changes have demonstrated that’’.

There has been speculation that Lagarde would leave to head up the World Economic Forum (WEF) Lagarde and the WEF declined to comment via their spokespeople.

The committee also asked the board to make clear whether executive board member Isabel Schnabel could leave before her term ends in December 2027. She is among several candidates in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to succeed Tobias Adrian as head of its monetary and capital markets department.

Lagarde suggests she will complete her full term at the ECB

The staff representatives called on the institution’s leadership “to provide appropriate clarity regarding potential leadership transitions”, warning that the senior departures could “delay or dilute” reforms addressing its “speak-up culture, career incentives and confidence in internal processes”.

The committee pointed to the ECB’s 2025 staff survey, in which only 40 per cent of respondents said they felt able to express their views freely without fear of negative consequences.

New executive board members needed time to understand the issues at the central bank, the letter said.

Lagarde has been facing questions about a potential early exit since May last year, when it was reported that the former chair of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab and Lagarde discussed the possibility of her moving to the WEF before the end of her term.

The WEF is expected to take a decision about its permanent next chair by November, with Lagarde being the preferred candidate, people familiar with the matter said.

The Financial Times reported on Monday that euro zone governments were gearing up for one of the biggest leadership reshuffles in the ECB’s 28-year history, with a deal over its three top roles expected to be agreed by the end of December.

A recent announcement that Lagarde’s autobiography Lady First would be published in January further fuelled speculation among ECB watchers that she might leave before the end of her term.

Asked last week how she would ensure that her public role as ECB president and commercial promotion of her book would be kept separate, Lagarde told journalists that “any marketing” would happen either on weekends or during her holidays. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026