We use essential cookies and third-party cookies for content.

The National Times - Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau to step down in June

Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau to step down in June

ECONOMY 09.02.2026
Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau to step down in June
Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau to step down in June / Photo: © AFP

Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council, will step down in June, the bank said Monday.

Change text size:

His departure was a surprise to financial markets, as it will come 18 months before his term was set to end in late 2027.

"My nearly 11 years at the head of the Bank of France and in service of the euro are and will remain the honour of my public career," Villeroy de Galhau said in a statement.

In a letter to bank employees seen by AFP, Villeroy de Galhau said that his decision was made "with complete personal independence" and that he had informed French President Emmanuel Macron as well as ECB President Christine Lagarde a few days ago.

The 66-year-old said he would be taking up the presidency of a Paris-based children's charity, the Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil.

"I can understand how this decision can come as a surprise for you," he said, adding that "Early June is sufficient time to calmly organise my successor."

Villeroy de Galhau, a former BNP Paribas executive, was named governor of the Bank of France in 2015 and renewed for a six-year term in 2021.

As Bank of France governor, he oversaw interest rates on state-regulated financial products like the hugely popular Livret A savings accounts and accounts for low-income households, as well as efforts to limit excessive personal debt.

He also helped shape monetary policy at the ECB with the other central bank chiefs of the single currency zone, who sit on the Governing Council and work hand in hand with the bank's Executive Board.

"The Governing Council has benefited enormously from the realism combined with strong European convictions and vision that he always brings to the table," Lagarde, also from France, said in a statement.

"His friendly, wide-ranging, team-oriented, good-humoured and consistently well-articulated contributions greatly enriched our discussions."

M.Wilson--TNT

Featured

Nearly 1,100 flights cancelled after UK air traffic control glitch

Almost 1,100 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Tuesday due to what the country's air traffic control service called a technical issue, in the latest glitch to spark travel chaos.

Carney touts Canada 'pivot' away from US as tariffs rise

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday said reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but the long-term benefits were clear, as retaliatory tariffs on US products took effect.

The "Everlasting Battery" Inside Your Joints:UConn Professor's Self-Powered Healing Material just Got Acquired

A material that turns your own movement into medicine has just landed a corporate home. PetVivo Holdings (OTCQX: PETV), a veterinary biotech and biomedical device company focused on treating osteoarthritis in dogs and horses, has acquired PiezoBioMembrane (PBM) — a startup built around a biodegradable implant that generates electricity from the everyday force of a joint in motion, and uses that charge to help regrow cartilage from the inside out. The material is the invention of Thanh Nguyen, a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering, who founded PBM in 2021 to advance new implementation methods for his work with piezoelectric materials — substances that convert mechanical force into electrical energy. These materials are typically ceramics: hard, brittle, and poorly suited for medical use. But Nguyen's lab developed new forms that are so , flexible, and biodegradable, breaking down naturally within the body over time. wound healing, The materials have already shown strong potential across a range of medical applications, including tissue regeneration, implanted force sensors, and targeted drug delivery in tumor treatment. How It Works biodegradable ultrasound for In the case of arthritis, Nguyen explains, the piezoelectric materials function as an off-the-shelf product that can be implanted or injected directly into the ailing joint — with no drugs, chemicals, or cells required. The everyday force exerted on the joint generates a small electrical charge, which helps regrow healthy cartilage, mimicking the body's natural use of electricity to regenerate tissue. "The body can be electrically stimulated to regrow," Nguyen says. PBM's materials "act like a battery — an everlasting battery that works whenever there is a force applied, and vanishes safely inside the body over time." PetVivo's Vision for the Acquisition PetVivo Holdings CEO John Lai expressed enthusiasm for the merger's potential to improve the lives of companion animals globally. "PBM has developed a compelling functional biomaterials platform with the potential to support the development of multiple medical device and therapeutic product lines across both human and animal health markets," Lai said in a press release. "By combining PBM's scientific innovation with PetVivo's product development capabilities, commercialization experience, regulatory expertise, and public company infrastructure, we believe we can accelerate theadvancement of technologies that may serve as the foundation for numerous future products and strategic opportunities." For Nguyen, the deal is a chance to scale technology that could eventually benefit both animals and people. "PetVivo is an animal health company, but they do have a big passion: pushing the technology towards clinical trials for human use," Nguyen says. "That aligned perfectly with my passion for developing technology that has an impact on human life. That is why I am excited about this merger, which facilitates my passion." A Track Record of Innovation Nguyen's research sits at the intersection of medicine, micro/nanotechnology, and biomaterials. His inventions have earned him publications in prominent scientific journals and media coverage from outlets including NPR. Nguyen founded PBM during the COVID-19 pandemic, a er realizing the material he had developed could be used to create an especially effective, biodegradable face mask — one where the mechanical force of breathing generated an electrical charge that provided an extra layer of protection against viruses. PBM is not Nguyen's only venture in the acquisition pipeline. His other startup, Single-Time Microneedles (STM), is also currently undergoing an acquisition process. STM has pioneered stable, efficient vaccine delivery technology in the form of an adhesive patch. shelfNguyen's focus on biodegradable materials has translated into a remarkably diverse range of medical applications. He has received five R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting research in cartilage regeneration, bone regeneration, HIV antibody delivery systems, and biodegradable ultrasound technology to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for brain cancer. "Whatever we are working on, we want to show that it works very well in vitro and in vivo," Nguyen says. "Then, when we are at the point of commercialization, we set up a startup or license the technology — or maybe team up with an industry partner." Thanh Nguyen is a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering. (Courtesy of Thanh Nguyen

Octrado introduces its proprietary trading offering: "Your Skill. Our Capital"

Infrastructure, transparent rules and clear legal boundaries positioned as the core of the funded-account model

Change text size: