Czech National Bank (CNB)
Czech board expects strong growth showing
Board members at the Czech National Bank caught off guard by strong growth in first quarter, minutes show, but expect stronger-than-forecasted growth for rest of year
Czech vice-governor questions case for joining banking union
Mojmír Hampl considers the pros and cons of the Czech Republic joining the SSM; government adopts a ‘wait-and-see approach’ and will review the issue every 12 months
Czech director: US dollar helps compensate for impact of oil prices on CEE countries
Luboš Komárek discusses the outlook for Central and Eastern European countries, including the favourable outlook for Germany, which is a "crucial trade partner" for many in the region
CNB paper questions strength of ‘border effect’
Studies using outdated methodologies overestimate the impact of national borders on trade, authors say; effect is stronger in emerging markets
Central Banking awards 2015: photo gallery
Jacques de Larosière was the 'guest of honour' at the Central Banking awards, which saw Raghuram Rajan, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Sarb, Czech National Bank and Bank of Canada taking top honours
Czech paper finds mixed evidence of spillovers from ECB unconventional policies
Impact of spillovers depends on whether the policy is conventional or unconventional, and has a larger impact on inflation than on growth, working paper finds
Central banks in CEE take different views on inflation drop
Institutions in Romania and Hungary forecast a quick return to target, while those in Poland and the Czech Republic sound a more cautious note about the inflation outlook
Czech paper examines link between financial variables and macroeconomy
Financial variables ‘particularly relevant’ in explaining Czech macroeconomic developments in the lead-up to and during downturns, researchers find
The winners of the Central Banking Awards 2015
Raghuram Rajan wins Governor of the Year while Reserve Bank of New Zealand picks up Central Bank of the Year; Jacques de Larosière honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award; 12 more awards announced
Transparency award: Czech National Bank
After speeding up its communications procedures, expanding into social media and creating an online blog for senior policy-makers, the Czech National Bank has taken transparency to a new level
People: Fritz Zurbrügg appointed as SNB vice-chair; Vanoli gets nod from Argentine senate
SNB reshuffles board, with Zurbrügg assuming vice-chair after Danthine retires; Luis Linde replaces Ignacio Visco at the steering committee of the European Systemic Risk Board
Czech National Bank advises against joining ERM II in 2015
Central bank says the government should not set a target date for entry into the eurozone; raises concern over pace of economic convergence and costs of joining
Czech banks ‘resilient’ to adverse shocks
Latest stress tests conducted by the Czech National Bank finds the country’s banking sector is ‘sufficiently resilient’ to shocks, including a ‘sizeable decline’ in economic activity
Czech currency intervention and forex reserves
Michal Skorepa and Mojmír Hampl explain how the Czech National Bank’s activities have directly and indirectly affected the value of the koruna, including the impact of direct interventions in 2013
Poland bucks expectations and EU trend with rate hold
National Bank of Poland holds key rate at 2.5% despite widespread expectations of a cut, stoked in part by the National Bank of Romania's easing policy yesterday
People: Thomsen named head of IMF’s European department; Former deputy finance minister joins CNB
Poul Thomsen gets post on full-time basis after leading Fund’s programmes in Greece and Portugal; Radek Urban heads resolution department at Czech National Bank; and more
Czech economy generating ‘noticeable inflationary pressures’
Czech National Bank board members point to ‘rapid’ rise in wages as indicator of inflationary pressures, but remain concerned by price developments in the eurozone
People: BoE legal adviser to retire in April 2015; Banque de France appoints new deputy director
BoE loses chief legal adviser next year; Banque de France promotes its director of risk operations; Czech National Bank names new deputy director; and more
IMF deems Czech exchange rate floor appropriate ‘for now’
Latest staff report commends CNB’s decision to intervene in foreign exchange market; supports the floor but says it should be removed ‘as soon as conditions allow’
Firm-level characteristics affect monetary policy transmission, Czechs find
Working paper finds firm-specific characteristics like size, age, collateral and profit, affect the way in which monetary policy changes are reflected in the external financing decisions of firms
Czech vice-governor says parts of Basel III 'done with too much haste'
Vladimir Tomsik discusses regulatory framework's impact on smaller economies; says interaction between capital buffers and liquidity standards could pose problems
People: Czech comms head moves to general secretariat; RBNZ board names new member
Czech National Bank appoints Marek Petruš to head general secretariat; Tania Simpson named as RBNZ director; New Zealand SWF gets new CIO; Bank of Russia Moscow head on the move
Czech banks could ride out recession plus deflation, central bank says
The Czech financial sector is exposed to bond volatility but banks have sufficient buffers to survive a ‘strong recession accompanied by deflation', financial stability report says
Czech paper aims to overcome ‘model uncertainty' over motives behind international reserves
Czech National Bank economists use Bayesian model averaging to suss out the chief motivations of holding international reserves