International Monetary Fund about NBP’s reaction to the pandemic
”NBP’s response to the challenges posed by Covid-19 was agile, forceful, and added innovative elements to existing policy frameworks. Poland is well positioned for a strong recovery” – says Alfredo Cuevas, an economist at the IMF responsible for the latest IMF review of Poland’s economic situation in an interview for Obserwator Finansowy.
Narodowy Bank Polski notifies about the interview with Alfredo Cuevas, an economist at the IMF responsible for the latest IMF review of Poland’s economic situation, posted at the ”Obserwator Finansowy” internet portal.
Alfredo Cuevas estimates that ”confronted with an emergency that combined demand and supply elements in the real economy, NBP appropriately provided monetary accommodation by reducing its policy rate to 0.1 percent.” According to the IMF economist, Poland is well positioned for a strong recovery. ”While 2021 should be much better than 2020, we project that 2022 will be the year when the rebound fully takes hold in Poland,” says Alfredo Cuevas to ”Obserwator Finansowy”.
He emphasizes that the pandemic has also shown the importance of taking care of ”the basics”. ”Maintaining buffers of policy space and ensuring the financial system remains sound are key parts of a strategy to prepare for the unexpected. The comprehensive economic policy response offered by the government in Poland through its various anti-crisis “shields” was made possible by the moderate public debt ratio and the strong sovereign credit rating. The central bank has been able to provide support through monetary accommodation and macroprudential easing because of the credibility it gained over the years and because of its actions over time to foster a sound financial system and a strong regulatory and supervisory framework. It would be premature to remove policy support at this stage, but when the pandemic is behind us, it will be wise to gradually rebuild policy buffers,” he explains.