ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel to resign to take senior role at IMF
ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel will resign in January 2027 to join the IMF as Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department.
Isabel Schnabel, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board and Governing Council, announced her resignation effective 3 January 2027, citing a new senior role at the International Monetary Fund. The ECB confirmed her decision and noted she will continue fulfilling her current duties until the transition. Schnabel will not engage in any IMF-related matters during her remaining ECB tenure, following an Ethics Committee review that waived a cooling-off period.
The IMF confirmed Schnabel’s appointment as Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, set to begin 4 January 2027. The position places her at the helm of the IMF’s department overseeing monetary policy, financial stability, and capital markets oversight globally. Her new role underscores the IMF’s reliance on central bank expertise for policy coordination.
The ECB’s Governing Council stated a successor will be appointed by the European Council under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union procedures. Until then, Schnabel’s responsibilities will be temporarily reassigned among remaining Executive Board members to ensure continuity. The ECB emphasized no cooling-off period was required after an Ethics Committee assessment.
ECB President Christine Lagarde praised Schnabel’s seven-year contribution, highlighting her role in stabilizing inflation at the 2% medium-term target and modernizing ECB operations. Lagarde noted Schnabel’s commitment to public service as invaluable to the institution and Europe. Media inquiries were directed to ECB spokesperson Lena-Sophie Demuth.