National Bank of Hungary governor Andras Simor said in an interview with internet portal Index that a bill submitted by the government on a new Central Bank Act would hurt the MNB’s independence.
“This regulation hurts the independence of the central bank, significantly hinders its rational operation and seriously threatens its professional credibility,” Mr Simor said.
The bill on the act, recently submitted to Parliament by the government, would raise the number of members of the MNB’s rate-setting Monetary Council and add a third deputy-governor to the bank’s management.
Mr Simor called the bill a “total takeover of power at the MNB”, adding that it could pose “an obstacle” at talks on financial assistance that Hungary is seeking from the IMF and the EU.
