ECB Successor Search for Lagarde to Start Thursday, Costa Says

The early, deliberate launch of the succession process matters less for its speed than for what it signals about continuity at the ECB. Markets have spent years pricing policy around Lagarde's communication style and reaction function, so the identity of her successor becomes a genuine variable rather than a formality. Who emerges, and whether the process stays on the timetable Costa outlined, is the open question worth watching.