Polish president picks Adam Glapiński to lead central bank

Adam Glapiński was nominated as the next National Bank of Poland president today (May 6), with the country's president choosing him to succeed Marek Belka in June.

Glapiński is a member of the central bank's board – a role he was handed in February after spending six years on its monetary policy council (MPC).

The announcement came as the MPC held its policy rate at 1.5% today. In a press conference following the appointment, Belka appeared happy with the nomination.

"I believe that it's a good choice," Belka said. He suggested there would be an element of continuity at the central bank under Glapiński, and that markets would react well to his appointment.

Anders Svendsen, chief analyst at Nordea Markets, made a similar point. "Glapiński is well known to the markets and should be seen as a continuation of the Belka-led monetary policy regime," he told Central Banking.

Glapiński must be confirmed by the lower house of the Polish parliament. It is currently led by the Law and Justice party, to which the president, Andrzej Duda, is allied.

Glapiński has experience in politics himself. He served as a government minister on multiple occasions during the 1990s. At one stage, he was the deputy chairman of the national economy committee.

He served on the board of multiple institutions in the 2000s, including in the banking, transport and telecommunication industries. He served as an economic adviser to the president from 2009 to 2010, before joining the National Bank of Poland.

If confirmed, he will succeed Marek Belka, a former prime minister of Poland, who took over the role in 2010. Despite easing policy steadily throughout the second half of his term, inflation has been rooted below zero for the best part of two years.

Belka highlighted the lack of inflationary pressure in the economy again today, noting the contribution from low commodity prices. Price growth will likely "stay negative in the coming months", he warned.

Svendsen expects the central bank to ease policy moving forwards. "I still think the markets are pricing in too few rate cuts from the NBP," he said. "Inflation keeps moving deeper into negative territory. It will be interesting to see the tone of the first Glapinski-led MPC meeting."