President of the National Bank of Poland in parliament

Adam Głapiński, the newly-appointed President of the National Bank of Poland, appeared in the Sejm, the lower chamber of Polish parliament, to present the annual report on operations of the NBP.

The report, in accordance with legal provisions, is presented to the MPs within five months of the end of the fiscal year. It touches upon a whole spectrum of issues the country’s most important financial institution deals with. These are such things as monetary policy, financial system, foreign exchange, legislation, statistics, research and education.

Adam Głapiński was appointed the President of the Bank in June, so obviously the report concerns the period when the institution was chaired by his predecessor, Marek Belka.

In his speech, the President talked a lot about the deflation that Polish economy has been experiencing for some time. He noted that the declining prices of consumer goods do not have negative effects on the Polish economy. In 2015, the prices fell by 0.9 percent, while the goal the National Bank of Poland trues to reach is +2.5 percent.

Deflation is currently present in many European countries, it is a result of global trends, Głapiński noted. The causes of negative inflation remain out of control of the Monetary Policy Council. For consumers, falling prices is no bad news at all.

Polish GDP grew in 2015 by 3.6 percent. This mean Polish economy is in pretty good shape. What is more, employment rate is on the rise, and so is consumption. The latter got a boost in the form of the 500+ child benefit programme which gives Polish parents additional funds they may spend in any way they want.

In 2015, the National Bank of Poland accrued profit in the amount of 8.3 billion PLN. 7.9 billion PLN, i.e. 95 percent of the amount, goes to the state budget.

The new President of the National Bank of Poland is 66 years old professor of economics, a graduate and a faculty member of Warsaw School of Economics, the most prestigious Polish business school, as well as a former MP and a senator. From 2010 he has been a member of the Monetary Policy Council, where he has been regarded as “dovish”.

The appointment was met with approval and the markets reacted well to the change.  Adam Głapiński is regarded as a very competent person, an economics expert with great experience in the world of politics.