One Of The Biggest ECB Hawks Unexpectedly Resigns In Opposition To Draghi’s Massive Easing

One of the biggest hawks on the ECB executive board and governing counsel, Germany Sabine Lautenschlaeger, unexpectedly announced her resignation from the European Central Bank Executive Board more than two years before the official end of her term.

The German policymaker is stepping down on Oct. 31, the ECB said in a statement late on Wednesday. While the statement provided no reason for her decision, some – such as the WSJ – suspect that the departure of the outspoken hawk is in protest to outgoing ECB president Mario Draghi’s recent decision to launch massive easing, including cutting rates to -0.50%, and resuming open-ended QE, despite an “unprecedented revolt” from Europe’s core economies, including Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands.

Lautenschlaeger was a board member since January 2014 and during her tenure served a full 5-year term as the vice-chair of the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism.

“President Mario Draghi thanked her for her instrumental role in helping set up and steer Europe-wide banking supervision, a key pillar of banking union, as well as her unwavering commitment to Europe”, Draghi said in a brief statement published on the ECB’s website, republished below in its entirety.

Sabine Lautenschläger resigns from ECB Board

Today, Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board and Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), informed President Mario Draghi that she will resign from her position on 31 October 2019, prior to the end of her term of office. Ms Lautenschläger has been a Member of the Executive Board and Governing Council since 27 January 2014 as well as serving a full term in office as the Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).

President Mario Draghi thanked her for her instrumental role in helping set up and steer Europe-wide banking supervision, a key pillar of banking union, as well as her unwavering commitment to Europe.