ECB's Lagarde replaces Fed's Powell on two key BIS committees

LONDON: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is to take over from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell as head of two of the Bank for International Settlements' key economic groups, the central bank umbrella body said on Wednesday.

Powell has been chair of the BIS's Global Economy Meeting (GEM) which involves 30 top central bankers and its Economic Consultative Committee (ECC) since 2019 when he took over from then-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney.

He will now hand the baton over to ECB counterpart Lagarde when his term as Fed chair runs out in May next year.


Lagarde's appointment also means the Basel-based institution, often dubbed the central bankers' central bank, is heavily dominated by current or former ECB policymakers.

Spain's former central bank governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos replaced Mexico's Agustin Carstens as the BIS's General Manager in July, while its 'All Governors' Meetings' held with the BIS's 63-member central banks, are chaired by current Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau.

The BIS did not say how long Lagarde's stint as chair of its committees will run for. Her term as ECB President runs until the end of October 2027.

The ECB chief is a lawyer by training. Last year she drew attention for describing economists as a "tribal clique" and for saying they were sometimes too insular in their views.