ECB staff seek ethics review of Lagarde’s book promotion

Staff representatives at the European Central Bank (ECB) have sought clarification over Christine Lagarde’s decision to promote her memoir during an official press conference. In a letter dated 9 October, the staff committee asked the chief compliance officer whether the president’s actions complied with conduct rules and questioned possible unequal ethical standards for employees and executive board members.

The questions followed a monetary policy press conference on 10 September, when Lagarde urged journalists to buy Lady First. Asked about separating publicity from her ECB responsibilities, she said commercial activity would be confined to weekends or holiday leave. Publication of the English edition is expected on 4 February.

The committee sought an assessment of whether producing the memoir fell within Lagarde’s occupation under Article 11.1 of the bank’s statutes. Otherwise, it asked whether an exemption had been requested from, and authorised by, the Governing Council. It also wanted to establish whether anyone had reviewed the manuscript for confidential information or policy-sensitive content.

An ECB spokesperson rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing, saying Lagarde had informed both the Ethics Committee and the Compliance and Governance Officer and received approval. The spokesperson described the project as private, completed in Lagarde’s own time without using the bank’s resources.

The committee pointed to employees’ obligation to obtain advance authorisation for publications unrelated to their ECB work. While acknowledging separate rules for staff and leaders, it argued that differing treatment should be proportionate and objectively justified.