Exclusive-ECB's Lagarde hints her exit is not imminent in message to colleagues

By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi

FRANKFURT, Feb 19 (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has told colleagues she remains focussed on her job and she would tell them first if she was about to step down, a message they took to mean she was not about to resign, four sources told Reuters.

The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Lagarde planned to leave her job early ahead of next year's French presidential election, a vote which the eurosceptic far-right could win.

An early resignation aimed at giving outgoing French leader Emmanuel Macron a say in picking the new ECB president would rekindle a debate about central bank independence from politics, a principle which has come under threat in the United States from President Donald Trump's attack on the Federal Reserve.

Lagarde sent a private message to fellow policymakers later on Wednesday to reassure them that she was still concentrating on her role of leading Europe's most important financial institution and that they would hear it from her, rather than the press, if she wanted to step down, the sources said.

Recipients of the message said this likely meant that Lagarde did not want to leave the ECB immediately, although the message did not firmly close the door to such a step.

Some policymakers said they were surprised that speculation about Lagarde's future should emerge already, with more than a year to go until the French elections in the spring of 2027 and the end of Lagarde's term in October of next year.

An ECB spokesperson declined to comment.

CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE

Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau announced plans to step down last week, in a move that gives Macron a chance to pick the next French central bank chief.

Speaking privately, ECB policymakers said Villeroy's move and the Lagarde message indicated a French desire to ensure competent, independent central bankers would be chosen regardless of who wins the French elections.

The far-right Rassemblement National (RN) has condemned the moves as anti-democratic.

The French president picks the country's central bank governor and, as the head of the euro zone's second largest economy, plays an important role in wider negotiations to select the ECB's President.

Polls show either far-right leader Marine Le Pen or her protege Jordan Bardella could win the French presidency.

While the RN has long dropped a call for France to leave the euro, the party is still seen as something of an unknown quantity in central banking circles.

Still, some sources said a decision by Lagarde to resign early to deprive Macron's successor of a say in who should lead the ECB would itself raise questions about her independence from politics.

(Reporting by Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado in Madrid and Reinhard Becker in Berlin; Editing by Toby Chopra)