Will the Governor of Hungary's central bank step down?
This is what they think in the government
Viktor Orbán did not wish to comment the information brought to light about the MNB foundations last Friday, the paper said. “According to politicians close to the PM, the monetary policy pursued by the central bank is correct and successful," Népszabadság summed up the collected views.“The central bank’s foundations did nothing illegal and 90% of their spending went to good and noble purposes," the sources said. The PM is of a similar view, but he was previously angry with Matolcsy over the amendment of the Central Bank Act and the Constitutional Court fiasco. The court ruled that the grants by the MNB to its foundations remain public assets regardless of the central bank’s opposite view and so the foundations must reveal their contracts to the public.
A video (in Hungarian) by Index shows members of the ruling Fidesz party do not really like the subject.
Matolcsy responds
Business daily Világgazdaság inquired at the central bank about the information about the foundations that went public late last Friday, asking whether Matolcsy will consider stepping down. The MNB replied:[...] following its foundation and court registration the foundation is a separate legal entity that is independent from its founder, and its management is carried out by a Board of Trustees.
"The founder’s rights of the MNB do not encompass making or influencing decisions on specific tenders and subsidies related to the designated activities of the foundations," it added.On the basis of this György Matolcsy does not wish to resign as a consequence of this matter.
The central bank’s argument about the independence of its foundations is odd considering that the foundations are mostly managed by central bank officials. Matolcsy is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at PADA and member of the Board of Trustees at PADMA, Világgazdaság spotted on Tuesday.
Világgazdaság highlighted today that the backing of a single member of the Board of Trustees could have been sufficient for Matolcsy to make sure Domus Animae subsidises the company which publishes online news portal vs.hu with HUF 71.1 million. New Wave can be linked to Tamás Szemerey, Matolcsy’s cousin. The paper says it is not a big deal to transfer funds from the foundations to different companies, as any member of the Board of Trustees may dispose of the foundation’s bank accounts single-handedly. It took no more than persuading another member, independent of the central bank, to back him up, if the board gave its consent. Consequently, Matolcsy did not have to convene the board of Domus Animae to endorse New Wave with a subsdidy of HUF 71.1 m.
Under the new law, the MNB will be able to classify data of its companies only if it proves the publishing of the data would jeopardise the competitiveness of these firms. Attila Péterfalvi, head of the data protection authority, said the planned change was in line with the constitution.
The original amendment to the Central Bank Act was approved by the governing majority in Parliament on 1 March, but President János Áder had concerns about it at referred to the Constitution Court for review, which then quashed certain parts of it, obliging MNB foundations to make their contracts public.
