ECB: interest rates and the presidential transition

This dossier follows European Central Bank monetary policy decisions and the succession to its presidency, distinguishing completed decisions from future policy.

Last updated : 29 October 20262 key moments

Christine Lagarde at the European Parliament, cropped archive photograph. This does not depict the announcements of 29 October 2026. — © European Union 2023 – Source: EP / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; recadrage préexistant, sans modification supplémentaire.

Where things stand

As of 29 October 2026, all three rates are unchanged. Christine Lagarde announces that she will leave office on 7 February 2027; the European Council will appoint her successor.

29 October 2026Confirmed

ECB holds interest rates as energy costs threaten inflation and growth

The European Central Bank left all three key interest rates unchanged on 29 October 2026. It warned that rising energy prices threaten both price stability and economic growth.

Archive portrait of Christine Lagarde at the European Parliament. — Christine Lagarde at the European Parliament, cropped archive photograph. This does not depict the announcements of 29 October 2026. — © European Union 2023 – Source: EP / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; recadrage préexistant, sans modification supplémentaire.

The deposit rate remains at 2.50%, the main refinancing rate at 2.65% and the marginal lending rate at 2.90%, according to the Governing Council’s statement.

The ECB says underlying inflation has remained broadly stable so far, but the scale and duration of the energy shock could lift inflation and weaken activity. It will continue to decide meeting by meeting, based on incoming data. The decision therefore commits the bank to neither an increase nor a cut at its next meeting.

Sources 2

29 October 2026Confirmed

Christine Lagarde announces she will leave the ECB on 7 February 2027

Christine Lagarde announced on 29 October 2026 that she would step down as European Central Bank president on 7 February 2027. She therefore remains in office until the announced departure date.

The ECB says she informed the Governing Council and European Council President António Costa. Her successor will be appointed by the European Council under the procedure set out in Article 283 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The announcement begins a leadership transition at the institution responsible for euro area monetary policy. It comes on the day the ECB holds rates while warning about the energy shock. The sources consulted do not yet establish who will succeed her.

Sources 3