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Lagarde to Hold Dinners With ECB Officials Before Most Meetings

By Jana Randow and Mark Schroers
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. The International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast for next year and warned of accelerating risks from wars to trade protectionism, even as it credited central banks for taming inflation without sending nations into recession. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has invited policymakers to kick off proceedings earlier in most of the weeks interest-rate decisions are due, according to people familiar with her plans.   

Officials from across the region received an email from Lagarde recently informing them that from January onward, Governing Council meetings to set borrowing costs will — not always but regularly — be preceded with a Tuesday night dinner, the people said. The issue was also discussed at their gathering last week and was favorably received.

Currently, sessions to discuss the state of the economy and financial markets in the 20-nation euro zone don’t commence until Wednesday, with policy decisions then announced Thursday afternoon. 

Such Tuesday evening reunions are set to feature a high-level guest, according to the people, who added that the first invitee is anticipated to be European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

It’s not the first time Lagarde has changed the Governing Council’s calendar. Policy meetings — which take place eight times a year — now regularly start on Wednesday morning. Previously, that day was reserved for ad-hoc seminars whenever the need arose.

An ECB spokesperson declined to comment.

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