Responding to charges by a Socialist MEP candidate, the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) said Economy Minister György Matolcsy successfully saved the country from financial meltdown in 2011. The statement released on Thursday comes on the back of a book written by Matolcsy’s cabinet chief and published on Tuesday that said Matolcsy spilled the beans to Goldman Sachs bankers about turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance in mid-November 2011. In view of this statement it has become exceedingly difficult to determine in what genre this book should be categorised.
"The [Hungarian] Socialist Party’s (MSZP) top candidate for European Parliament election has accused György Matolcsy today in relation to the fact that in 2011 the Hungarian government successfully staved off sovereign default and maintained the country’s solvency," the NBH said in a statement today.
Read more about the review of the book written by Matolcsy’s cabinet chief Helga Wiedermann and the related issues at the link below:
“During the recent sovereign defaults (e.g. during the crises in Cyprus and Argentina) the respective national currencies suffered great devaluation, government securities became unsellable, the financing of the countries’ public debts became impossible and their citizens had to shoulder severe burdens.
However, by fending off Hungary’s sovereign default, the Economy Ministry (NBH), helmed by György Matolcsy, and the government warded off these very developments, preventing the forint from depreciating. In her economic novel Helga Wiedermann recounts a fiction. Of course, the minister leading the NGM could not have informed investors that Hungary was to turn to the IMF, but among several other possibilities he named this one as a potential way to go.
We understand that seeing the successes achieved by the Hungarian government Tibor Szanyi feels anger, but this does not change the facts: as sovereign default was fended off in 2011 Hungarian citizens were freed from substantial burdens," the NBH said in a statement today.
What is especially fascinating about the above statement is that now the central bank claims that after spending about 18 months in power the government had to bring back the country from the verge of financial collapse and that is why it was forced to seek IMF assistance. According to Wiedermann’s book, which has now been rendered as fiction by the NBH, the reason behind that was an attack by foreign financial groups. What is not clear to us - among other things - is whether the part on Matolcsy spilling the beans to Goldman Sachs or the entire book should be regarded as fiction.
In a more traditional interpretation the tensions on Hungary’s money and capital markets at that time had been brought about by the stressful sentiment over Europe’s debt crises, the unorthodox economic policy measures of the Hungarian government (e.g. the early FX mortgage repayment scheme) and the flight of retail deposits from commercial banks.
In view of the pandemonium over the past few days we are having difficulties deciding which way to go with this book. Its cover says “Chess and Poker - The Chronicles of the Economic Freedom Fight" and at the book launch some said it was “the handbook to correct negotiation with the IMF" and based on what PM Orbán said we also believed it was “not an adventure novel". However, the central bank now claims the book is fiction. It’s a tough one, eh?Remarks at the book launch on Tuesday
State newswire MTI and Index reported from the launch of Wiedermann’s book (‘Chess and Poker’) on Tuesday. Those present had a rather different take on what this book is then.
“We have achieved the economic successes together" over the past four years, MTI cited Matolcsy as saying at the event on Tuesday. He thanked PM Orbán (also present) for pursuing bold economic policy in possession of a 2/3 legislative majority obtained in 2010.
Members of the central bank’s Monetary Council were also present. Wiedermann was cabinet chief for Economy Minister Matolcsy (now Governor of the central bank) for years.
György Barcza, Editor in Chief of business daily Napi Gazdaság, underlined that the book could be regarded as a handbook on how one should negotiate with the IMF. It also proves that financial independence is a lot more important than potentially favourable interest rates, he added.
Index reminded that at the book launch Matolcsy claimed exactly the opposite of what the NBH has just stated. He said the book was written on a request by Orbán and that it is not a picaresque novel at all, but the history of the past few years, of what they had lived through and done together. But let his words speak for themselves.
“We are giving to you Helga Wiedermann’s book while also celebrating that there was someone to write the history of the past years. And, of course, Mr. Prime Minister had also asked us that having achieved the successes of the past years together we should have the courage to write about it too. [...] Thanks for this; what Helga wrote about in this book we had lived through, we had done it, we had achieved it together and I think the sun is also shining so perhaps someone from above also likes what we were doing."
Charting is displayed using TradingView's technology, a platform, where you can build advanced charts,
spot upcoming trends in the stock screener, and find inspiration in multiple trading ideas
