Central Banks

Lagarde Is ECB Boss But Schnabel and Lane Are Key for Economists

  • Poll shows two Executive Board members give better rates clues
  • Among national central banks, it’s Villeroy, Knot and Nagel

Christine Lagarde.

Photographer: Jeremy Suyker/Bloomberg
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When economists scrutinize the European Central Bank’s most senior leaders for pointers on interest rates, Christine Lagarde isn’t who they turn to first.

Only 40% of respondents in a Bloomberg survey said the ECB president was among the top two Executive Board members they follow to inform their opinions. From that six-strong panel, most prefer to listen to Isabel Schnabel, a German official in charge of markets, and then Chief Economist Philip Lane.