ECB has asked the EU to start finding a successor to ECB's Schnabel

The selection runs through the European Council on a recommendation from the Eurogroup and after consultation with Parliament and the ECB's own Governing Council, and has historically been as much a national allocation exercise as a monetary one, with the outgoing member's home country typically lobbying hard to retain the seat. Schnabel has been among the more reliably hawkish voices on the Governing Council, prominent on balance sheet and inflation-risk arguments, so the market-relevant question is whether the successor preserves that positioning or shifts the board's centre of gravity; past board changes have tended to matter at the margin of the debate rather than altering the policy path, since decisions rest with the wider council. The portfolio allocation that follows, including who takes over the market operations brief, is the other customary tell. Watch for the German nomination debate first, then the Eurogroup shortlist, with the ECB consultation stage the point at which the frontrunner usually becomes clear.