ECB's Isabel Schnabel set to exit early for senior IMF post
ECB board member Isabel Schnabel will leave early for a senior IMF role, with an announcement expected imminently.
European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel is preparing to step down early to take up a senior position at the International Monetary Fund, with an announcement expected imminently and possibly as soon as Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter.
Schnabel, who oversees the ECB's market operations, was appointed to an eight-year term running until the end of 2027. Her departure would come well before that mandate expires.
The IMF has been keen to fill the post of director of its market department before the end of the year, the people said, adding urgency to the timing of the move.
Both the ECB and the IMF declined to comment on the matter.
The shift would mark a significant early exit from the ECB's executive board, the six-member body responsible for setting monetary policy for the euro area. Schnabel's portfolio includes the implementation of the bank's monetary policy decisions in financial markets, a role at the centre of the ECB's efforts to steer borrowing costs across the currency bloc.