ECB's Lagarde receives 140,000 euros from BIS despite payment ban for ECB staff, FT reports

Feb 23 (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde receives about 140,000 euros ($165,466) a year as a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) board member despite an ECB ban on third-party payments to staff, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

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, according to the report.

The BIS does not disclose payments individually but 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 130,457 Swiss francs, or about 140,000 euros, from the BIS in 2025, according to the report.

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

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

Lagarde’s position at the helm of ECB has been under uncertainty after the Financial Times reported last week that she plans to step down before next spring’s French presidential election. However, Reuters reported that she told colleagues she remains focused on her job and she would tell them first if she was about to step down, citing sources.

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