Key facts
- ECB staff questioned whether President Christine Lagarde breached ethics standards by promoting her memoir, Lady First, at a press conference.
- The ECB's staff committee raised concerns in a letter dated Oct. 9 to the chief compliance officer.
- Lagarde encouraged reporters to buy her book during a monetary policy press conference on Sept. 10.
- The book's English version is scheduled for release on Feb. 4.
- An ECB spokesperson stated Lagarde has done nothing wrong and that the project is a private activity carried out in her own time without using ECB resources.
Staff at the European Central Bank are questioning whether President Christine Lagarde adhered to the institution's ethics standards when she promoted her forthcoming memoir, 'Lady First,' during an official press conference last month. The ECB's staff committee formally raised these concerns in a letter dated October 9 to the central bank's chief compliance officer.
During a monetary policy press conference on September 10, Lagarde was asked about separating her book's commercial promotion from her ECB duties. She stated that promotional activities would occur on weekends or holidays and then encouraged reporters to purchase the book. The English version of the autobiography is slated for release on February 4.