ECB’s Wunsch: “Dropped My Slight Dovish Bias,” Won’t Bet on Rate Direction

19 December 2025

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch on Friday insisted that he had abandoned his recent dovish leanings and refused to bet on the direction of the next change of ECB interest rates.

Wunsch, who heads the National Bank of Belgium, told Bloomberg with apparent contrition, “I very officially dropped my slight dovish bias that I had over the last few months.”

The ECB’s monetary policy is “in a good place,” he said, and if the updated forecasts materialize, no change to the policy stance will be required for some time. He said he was “not making any bet, not even on the direction” of rates when they do change.

Growth and inflation risks were “broadly balanced,” he said.