Financial Times

Christine Lagarde receives €140,000 from Bri in 2025, despite ECB staff ban. The reply: different code for her

The ECB warns that the role on the Bri board entails governance responsibilities and legal risks that justify the remuneration

23 February 2026

La presidente della Banca centrale europea (BCE) Christine Lagarde arriva al banchetto annuale del Columbia Journal of Transnational Law per la consegna del Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award, presso l'University Club di New York, a New York City, Stati Uniti, il 19 febbraio 2026. REUTERS/Adam Gray

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

ECB President Christine Lagarde earned around EUR 140,000 as a member of the Bank for International Settlements (BoI) board in 2025 in spite of the prohibition for ECB staff to receive remuneration from third parties.

The revelation, made by Lagarde herself in response to a question from German and Swedish MEPs, has fuelled internal unrest at the Frankfurt institution, where some employees speak of double standards.

In 2024 Lagarde received EUR 466,000 in basic salary plus EUR 135,000 in benefits from the ECB.

Adding up the remuneration received from Bri, her total estimated remuneration rises to around EUR 741,000, making her the highest-paid European civil servant.

The Bri (Bank for International Settlements), which brings together the heads of the world's major central banks, does not publish the individual compensation of its 18 directors.

On the internal ECB forums viewed by the Financial Times, some employees objected that the personnel code prohibits any external remuneration for activities carried out in the context of professional duties.

The ECB replied to the British newspaper that the president is not subject to staff rules, but to a dedicated code of conduct, and that the role on the Bri board entails governance responsibilities and legal risks that justify the remuneration.

The case contrasts with the practices of other central banks: the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Powell and the Governor of the Bank of England Bailey do not collect Bri's allowance.

At the Banque de France, however, part of the fee is returned to the institution.

Sources quoted by the Financial Times finally recall that Lagarde follows the line of her predecessors, Mario Draghi and Jean-Claude Trichet, who had also received the Bri cheque.