Lagarde Speech Preview: All about ECB press conference

•  Christine Lagarde to hold key press conference on Thursday.
•  European Central Bank expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points.
•  Q&A section of ECB President speech will be highly scrutinized.

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), will hold a press conference on Thursday, March 16 at 13:45 GMT, 30 minutes after the publication of the ECB monetary policy decision statement. The Q&A session by Lagarde will be a highly anticipated one, as the current ECB tightening monetary policy seems to be questioned on the aftermath of the banking crisis triggered by the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse.

You can follow the ECB press conference, with Christine Lagarde’s speech, in the following video:

The European Central Bank has been raising interest rates in the past months, since the summer of 2022, lifting the main operations rate from 0% to the current 3.5%. Another 50 basis point interest rate hike is expected this time around, but the banking crisis that started in the United States with the default of SVB seems to have spread quickly to the European banking sector. It will be very important to see if Christine Lagarde addresses these issues – and whether they have impacted the ECB decision-making – in her prepared statement or in the following Q&A session, where she will surely be asked about it.

About Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde was born in 1956 in Paris, France. Graduated from Paris West University Nanterre La Défense and became President of the European Central Bank on November 1st 2019. Prior to that, she served as Chairman and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund between 2011 and 2019. Lagarde previously held various senior ministerial posts in the Government of France: she was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (2007–2011), Minister of Agriculture and Fishing (2007) and Minister of Commerce (2005–2007). 

About ECB press conference

Following the ECB´s economic policy decision, the ECB President gives a press conference regarding monetary policy. Her comments may influence the volatility of EUR and determine a short-term positive or negative trend. Her hawkish view is considered as positive – or bullish for the EUR – whereas her dovish view is considered as negative, or bearish.