German Government Officially Proposes Nagel to Succeed ECB’s Weidmann at Bundesbank

20 December 2021

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Monday confirmed that the new government would like Joachim Nagel to succeed outgoing Bundesbank President and European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann.

In a tweet, Lindner said that he and Chancellor Olaf Scholz were proposing Nagel and that ‘[i]n view of inflation risks, the significance of a stability-oriented monetary policy is growing. He is an experienced person who will ensure the continuity of the Bundesbank.’

Nagel’s name had surfaced early this month as the leading candidate to replace Weidmann, who in October announced his departure at year’s end, ten and a half years after taking office in May 2011.

Since November of last year, Nagel has been Deputy Head of the Banking Department at the Bank for International Settlements, but he previously spent almost two decades at the Bundesbank, rising to board member with responsibility for IT and markets before leaving in 2016.

ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel tweeted her congratulations on Nagel’s nomination. ‘I am very much looking forward to our collaboration in the Governing Council @ecb - there are many important tasks ahead of us’, she wrote.