Goodbye Mario Draghi as Lagarde era nears for ECB

LONDON: It’s time to say goodbye to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, as he oversees his final monetary policy meeting this week before his term ends on October 31.

Thursday’s gathering of the Governing Council may prove an anticlimax after the recent stimulus injection by policy makers and the verbal fireworks it provoked as they subsequently squabbled over its merits. Details and calibration of that package of measures, further calls for fiscal help and valedictory remarks may provide the key headlines.

Draghi will be succeeded by Christine Lagarde, though the change of leadership isn’t likely to shift the ECB’s policy stance. A Bloomberg survey of economists showed Friday that the latest initiative is likely locked in for the next three years – with most respondents saying there won’t be an interest-rate hike until late 2022.