ECB’s Lagarde receives 140,000 euros from Bank for International Settlements

[BENGALURU] European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde received about 140,000 euros (S$209,300) a year as a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) board member.

This was despite an ECB ban on third-party payments to staff, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Monday (Feb 23).

Some ECB employees, using internal message boards, have complained about the apparent double standard in the treatment of the president’s remuneration from the BIS, based on the report.

The BIS did not disclose payments individually.

In a written statement on Friday to German member of the European Parliament Fabio De Masi and his colleague, Lagarde disclosed for the first time that she received 140,000 euros from the BIS in 2025, based on the report.

ECB staff “cannot accept remuneration for activities they perform exercising their ECB task”, the European bank told FT.

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The BIS and ECB did not immediately respond to requests for a comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Lagarde’s position at the helm of ECB has been under scrutiny after FT reported on Feb 18 that she planned to step down before next spring’s French presidential election.

However, Reuters reported that she told colleagues she remained focused on her job, and would tell them first if she was about to step down, citing sources. REUTERS