Keynote speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the annual reception of the Association of German Banks on the occasion of their 75th anniversary

Berlin, 20 April 2026

It is a pleasure to be here today for the 75th anniversary of the Bundesverband deutscher Banken.

When this association was founded, Europe was emerging from the most devastating period in its modern history – and was about to enter a golden age of peace and economic growth.

Today we face more uncertainty about which direction Europe will take than at any point since then. And much of that uncertainty is coming from beyond our borders.

When historians look back at this period, what will stand out is the sheer relentlessness of it. A once-in-a-generation pandemic, followed by a land war on our continent, followed by the worst energy crisis in 50 years, followed by the most sweeping tariff increases since the 1930s.

And now a military conflict that has shut down the world’s most important energy chokepoint,…