By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Wednesday defended central bank independence as essential to credible monetary policy, arguing that insulating rate decisions from short-term politics helps keep inflation expectations anchored and macroeconomic volatility contained.
18 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau on Wednesday argued that the ECB’s interest-rate stance was “well positioned” but should remain flexible, saying he was convinced with respect to inflation that “the downside risks are greater.”
18 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The Financial Times report on Wednesday that Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the European Central Bank (ECB) before her term ends is best treated as a timely reminder that the clock is ticking.
18 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will depart from the ECB before the end of her eight-year term on 31 October of next year, according to the Financial Times on Wednesday.
18 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Monday that Europe has been significantly affected by geoeconomic fragmentation and should do everything possible to maintain close cooperation with the United States.
16 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 6 February 2026 with Matthew Emde, Director General of Funds Management at the Canadian Department of Finance:
16 February 2026 Debt Issuance News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Canada is “working hard” toward issuing a transition bond in 2027, with the intention of making it a benchmark deal, according to Matthew Emde, Director General of Funds Management at the Department of Finance.
16 February 2026 Debt Issuance News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde on Saturday said trade and supply-chain dependencies had become a security issue for Europe, arguing that a more volatile geoeconomic environment would likely bring more frequent episodes of financial market stress.
14 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – The European Central Bank has expanded access to its repo facility, granting standing eligibility in principle to central banks globally, according to a press release.
14 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter showed the Governing Council and the Executive Board remained broadly stable this week, with only a marginal hawkish shift in each that is unlikely to be materially significant.
13 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said on Friday that the ECB had yet to see the full impact of the appreciation of the euro, adding that it would likely feed through by this spring.
13 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Thursday that the ECB should press ahead with reducing its balance sheet to rebuild policy space and be better prepared for unexpected shocks.
12 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Thursday said he was not ruling out further interest-rate reductions but also did not exclude the possibility that rates could rise, while arguing that inflation was on track to return to the ECB’s 2% target.
12 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – VIENNA (Econostream) – European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Wednesday argued that portrayals of Europe as a continent in decline are “misleading,” and urged policymakers to unlock the Single Market’s potential to give European firms the scale they need to compete globally.
11 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Wednesday that he would not try to forecast what the ECB's next rate move would be, adding that he saw value in the monetary policy stance of recent months.
11 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Wednesday argued that the widely cited narrative of a declining Europe is “misleading.”
11 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf said on Wednesday that the ECB was not on hold with respect to interest rates, citing elevated uncertainty.
11 February 2026 Central Bank News
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – François Villeroy de Galhau’s decision to step down as governor of the Banque de France in early June, announced Monday, is being treated as a personal choice to make a laudable move into social service. For European Central Bank communication, the upside may outweigh the costs.
10 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Tuesday that downside risks to inflation were “a little stronger” than those on the upside, and that the ECB was in a “good position.”
10 February 2026 Central Bank News
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 6 February 2026 with Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank:
10 February 2026 Central Bank News