ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel to resign to take senior role at IMF

Isabel Schnabel, a member of the Executive Board and the Governing Council at the European Central Bank (ECB), has announced her decision to resign from her position on January 3, 2027. Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has confirmed that Schnabel will be appointed as the Fund’s Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, effective January 4, 2027.

Schnabel will continue to fulfill her current duties until her appointment to the IMF. The ECB’s Governing Council has determined that no cooling-off period is necessary following her resignation, as confirmed by an opinion from the ECB’s Ethics Committee. The ECB’s Executive Board has agreed to temporarily reassign Schnabel’s responsibilities among its remaining members once she departs.

President Christine Lagarde, ECB President, expressed gratitude to Schnabel for her significant contributions over the past seven years. She highlighted Schnabel’s pivotal role in stabilising inflation at the ECB’s 2% medium-term target and her contributions to modernising ECB operations to address 21st-century challenges. Lagarde also praised Schnabel’s dedication to public service.

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