Deadline for ECB executive board successor nominations pushed to 27 November

Schnabel's successor timetable

The euro area has extended the deadline for member states to put forward candidates to succeed Isabel Schnabel on the ECB Executive Board, moving it from 28 October to 27 November. Eurogroup president Kyriakos Pierrakakis announced the change on 27 October. Schnabel told ECB President Christine Lagarde on 24 September that she would leave her post on 3 January 2027. A spokesperson for the Council of the European Union said the 21 euro-area governments entitled to nominate candidates were informed of the decision the previous week.

“This decision was taken to give Member States more time to prepare their applications.”

Separately, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said she intends to appoint Schnabel as the fund's financial counsellor and director of its markets department.

Euribor rates move in different directions

On 27 October, Euribor rates split. The three-month rate fell 0.020 points to 2.618%, while the six-month rate rose 0.012 points to 2.990% and the 12-month rate climbed 0.037 points to 3.262%. All three changes are measured against 26 October.

Banco de Portugal data for August show that the six-month rate, which became the most used benchmark for variable-rate home loans in January 2024, accounted for 40.3% of the stock of variable-rate loans for owner-occupied permanent homes. The 12-month and three-month rates accounted for 31.03% and 24.27% respectively.

The ECB holds its next monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt on 28 and 29 October, and markets expect it to keep its key rates unchanged. The bank raised rates by 25 basis points on 10 September after holding them in July. Earlier, in June, it lifted rates by 25 basis points for the first time since September 2023, after eight reductions since its easing cycle began in June 2024.

3-month2.618%

6-month2.99%

12-month3.262%

3-month

2.618 %

6-month

2.99 %

12-month

3.262 %

Data from the article text

Sovereign bond yields edge higher

At 08:45 Lisbon time, the 10-year Portuguese yield stood at 3.876%, up from 3.865% on 26 October, while the two-year and five-year yields were 3.172% and 3.455%. Italy's 10-year yield was 4.511%, Greece's 4.326%, Spain's 4.005% and the US 10-year yield 4.992%, compared with 4.989% the day before. These figures are Bloomberg bid values.

Germany's 10-year yield eased to 3.358% from 3.366%, while France's rose to 4.942% from 4.900%. The French spread over Germany was about 160 basis points, down from a 15-year high reached the previous week but still above the spreads of Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal.

Portugal3.876%

Spain4.005%

Greece4.326%

Italy4.511%

Germany3.358%

France4.942%

United States4.992%

Portugal

3.876 %

Spain

4.005 %

Greece

4.326 %

Italy

4.511 %

Germany

3.358 %

France

4.942 %

United States

4.992 %

Data from the article text