Potential conflicts of interest concerning the Deputy Director General for Monetary Policy

According to the ECB staff list, Natacha Valla was (still) Deputy Director General for Monetary Policy at the ECB on 15 June. She has just been appointed to the Advisory Board of the company Tikeau Investment Management, while the company LVMH announced in March that she had joined their board of directors.

1. At the time of its historical bond issue, LVMH benefited greatly from the ECB’s private debt buy-back policy. How can the ECB accept that a Deputy Director of the ECB who has not yet resigned announce that she will join the board of directors of LVMH – a company which has benefitted more than any other in France from that selfsame policy?

2. Does the requirement that ECB officials higher than grade K give three months notice before taking up a post in a financial institution not apply to Natacha Valla, and why is that period only three months?

3. If the managerial staff list of 15 June is correct, and Natacha Valla is still in office at the ECB and has failed to fulfil her obligation to notify the ECB that she is seeking other activities, what penalties will she face?