Germany denies report de Cos will become ECB president

A flat government denial of a succession report is itself a signal: ECB leadership chatter has moved into the open well before any formal process, and Berlin is trying to shut down a specific name rather than a discussion. For euro-area rates and bank supervision, the person at the top matters less immediately than the perception of political horse-trading over the post. The open question is whether other names surface, and whether national capitals keep briefing succession while the current leadership is still in place.