After the closing of nominations on Friday, the finance ministers from the 21 euro area member states will take stock of the two candidacies at their meeting on Nov. 9.

FRANKFURT, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The nomination process for the European Central Bank (ECB) presidency closed on Friday, with former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and former Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos confirmed as the only two candidates for the post.

Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis confirmed the two nominations in a statement on Friday.

Spain submitted the nomination of Pablo Hernandez de Cos on Friday as Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Carlos Cuerpo echoed Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in endorsing de Cos.

In a letter to Pierrakakis, Cuerpo threw his weight behind de Cos, asserting that he is confident that de Cos would be a good ECB chief.

The Spanish candidate will be challenged by Klaas Knot, the Dutch candidate who was nominated by the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Hernandez de Cos has been general manager of the Bank for International Settlements since July 2025. Holding a PhD in economics, he has held several senior positions, including governor of the Bank of Spain from June 2018 to June 2024.

As an ECB governing council member, Hernandez de Cos assumed some critical roles and chaired the Advisory Technical Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board from 2019 to 2024.

Knot, 59, a Dutch economist, served as president of the Dutch Central Bank from 2011 to 2025. As one of the longest serving governing council members at the ECB, Knot once served in quite a few international organizations including the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements.

After the closing of nominations on Friday, the finance ministers from the 21 euro area member states will take stock of the two candidacies at their meeting on Nov. 9.

ECB President Christine Lagarde announced on Oct. 29 that she would step down on Feb. 7, 2027, nine months before the end of her term.

Without disclosing her next plan, Lagarde said the reason behind her decision of early exit was her inability to remain neutral.

Lagarde took over the role of ECB president in November 2019 from Mario Draghi, who has been widely lauded as "Super Mario" for his ability to steer the central bank through the darkest hours of the eurozone.

Faced with the worst inflation spike in the euro area, the ECB under the leadership of Lagarde initiated the fastest cycle of rate hikes from July 2022 to September 2023, lifting interest rates by a total of 450 basis points.

Inflation in the euro area was brought down to around two percent in most months of 2025 and early 2026 before the Iran war broke out and drove up prices again.

Lagarde's planned departure comes amid renewed inflationary pressures. She described the ECB as "solid, strong, like a rock" and expressed confidence that the institution would maintain continuity after her departure.