The CEO of BBVA, Onur Genç, considers Pablo Hernández de Cos an excellent profile to succeed Christine Lagarde at the helm of the European Central Bank. Lagarde will leave the position on February 7, 2027.
Christine Lagarde will step down as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) on February 7, 2027, as announced this Thursday. The news comes during the quarterly results presentation of BBVA, whose CEO, Onur Genç, took the opportunity during the press conference to discuss the succession, as reported by pressdigital.es.
Genç highlighted Lagarde's work at the institution and pointed to Pablo Hernández de Cos, former governor of the Bank of Spain, as a suitable candidate. The executive recalled that BBVA has closely collaborated with Hernández de Cos during his time at the Bank of Spain.
«[Lagarde] has made a very important contribution to the ECB»
«He is an outstanding professional, an excellent profile»
Lagarde's successor will be appointed by the European Council, in accordance with the nomination procedure of Article 283 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Lagarde's early departure will also open a vacancy on the ECB's Executive Board, which currently has six members. This is in addition to the resignation of Isabel Schnabel, who will leave her position at the end of 2026, and the end of the term of the chief economist, Philip Lane, expected in May 2027. Member states could agree on the three names to renew half of the board ahead of 2027.
Among the candidates for the presidency are Hernández de Cos and Klaas Knot, former governor of the central bank of the Netherlands. According to available information, France would aspire to the chief economist position, while Germany would like to retain the market operations responsibility currently held by Schnabel.
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