The President of NBP on the award Best Central Bank Governance Europe 2021 for the Polish central bank

Narodowy Bank Polski and Prof. Adam Glapiński, NBP President, have been honoured with the prestigious award Best Central Bank Governance Europe 2021. The distinction was awarded by the prestigious magazine Capital Finance International.

“This international distinction is yet another confirmation of the correctness of the decisions taken by NBP in the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Prof. Adam Glapiński, President of NBP, on receiving news of the award.

“The global pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges in Poland and Central Europe – but Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP) was well prepared. Under the model leadership of Professor Adam Glapiński – President of Narodowy Bank Polski – NBP reacted swiftly, strongly and with conviction to the upcoming shock,” the panel of jurors wrote in the justification of the award.

“It was the President of NBP that first signalled the need to lower interest rates, promptly slashing the main policy rate to 0.1 percent. NBP also launched the largest asset purchase programme among the emerging market economies, which was a huge step for combating the economic consequences of the pandemic […] NBP is supported by a team of experts who safeguard the value of the zloty, the Polish currency. A modern arsenal of tools is in place to monitor data and identify risks. The proactive decisions taken by the NBP Management Board have helped Poland to achieve the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, one of the lowest economic contraction rates in the European Union, and a record high in capital accounts. NBP acts with full independence. With market confidence, it strives to advance the economic wellbeing of the country and Poles and supports government policy. In 2020, NBP generated a profit of $2.5bn – 95 percent of which goes to fund the state budget […]

“[…] NBP under the leadership of Professor A. Glapiński responded to the pandemic in a swift manner securing the Polish economy from the worst scenario of deep recession and high unemployment. Narodowy Bank Polski, and thereby Poland, is at the forefront of the fight with the economic consequences of the pandemic. Positive opinions on the bank’s communication, actions as well as its governance by Professor Glapiński have been expressed by the world’s leading financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and last but not least, the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, who said that Prof. Glapiński should continue his mission as NBP President for the next term of office,” the panel justified further.

Thanking on behalf of all employees of Narodowy Bank Polski for the award, Professor Adam Glapiński recalled that, “Narodowy Bank Polski reacted swiftly and decisively to the pandemic-related risks, mitigating the negative economic effects on both society and the economy. This happened, amongst others, because we constantly prepare for different scenarios, not only those arising directly from economic events. We analyse the experiences of other central banks and draw conclusions from them. We are able to react flexibly and very quickly, i.e. in advance, also when our assessments are not yet confirmed by data that are always delivered late.

“A special challenge for us all was the necessity to cope with the huge scale of uncertainty caused by COVID-19. Despite the many risks, in Poland we managed to take measures that significantly reduced the scale of economic losses, supported the economy and curbed the rise in unemployment. This does not mean that it will be easy to recover the losses – we face a period of intensive, creative work, which will also bring new challenges and difficult decisions to take. However, the effects of our efforts and the joint struggle of Poles against the pandemic so far allow us to be optimistic about the future. May this award encourage all of us to continue our efforts.

“Once again, thank you for the recognition by such a respected international body of the measures taken by the employees of the Polish central bank,” concluded the NBP President