ECB Staff Question Christine Lagarde Over Memoir Promotion
European Central Bank staff are investigating whether President Christine Lagarde violated ethics standards by promoting her memoir during an official monetary policy press conference.
Staff at the European Central Bank are questioning whether President Christine Lagarde violated the institution's ethics standards after she promoted her upcoming memoir, Lady First, during a monetary policy press conference on September 10.
In a letter dated October 9, the ECB staff committee requested clarity from the chief compliance officer on whether the promotion breached the bank's code of conduct. The committee raised concerns regarding potential double standards, questioning if different ethics requirements are applied to the six executive board members compared to general staff.
When asked during the press conference how she would separate commercial promotion from her official duties, Lagarde stated that "any marketing, publishing, commercial operations will happen either at weekends or on a day or two that I will take as a holiday."
