FACTBOX-Who is who on new Czech central bank policy board

...markets widely expect to result in interest rates holding steady for a seventh consecutive month.

The seventh board member Mojmir Hampl is absent, the CNB has said. Below is the line-up of the CNB governing board, background on policymakers' general preferences and a history of the past five rate moves.

=================CENTRAL BANK GOVERNING BOARD==================

GOVERNOR ZDENEK TUMA, 46 years old, mandate until Feb 2011.

- has sounded modestly hawkish in most recent public statements; the budding risk of demand-pull price growth makes him reassert his inflation-fighting credentials given his general responsibility for maintaining price stability as the bank's chief executive.

VICE-GOVERNORS:

LUDEK NIEDERMAYER, 41, mandate until Feb 2008.

- seen generally leaning towards hawkish views on inflation;

MIROSLAV SINGER, 38, mandate until Feb 2011.

- seen tending towards dovish, albeit very pragmatic, policy views; advocate of flexible policy stance; has said he is not afraid of calling for frequent policy changes in order to ensure interest rates are kept as low as possible.

OTHER MEMBERS:

MOJMIR HAMPL, 32, mandate until Nov 2012.

- seen as pragmatic; spoke against any near-term rate rise in mid-March; he says he sees himself as an owl rather than hawk or dove, seeking to watch the economy develop without too much interference but not hesitating to peck when need be.

ROBERT HOLMAN, 53, mandate until Feb 2011.

- says as a general rule, he prefers stability in interest rates to frequent change so as not to disturb the real economy.

PAVEL REZABEK, 46, mandate until Feb 2011.

- pragmatic advocate of accommodative policy stance; speaks in favour of letting inflation both rise and fall within the plus/minus 1 percent tolerance band around the bank's 3 percent inflation target.

VLADIMIR TOMSIK, 32, mandate until Nov 2012.

- leaning towards the dovish wing of the board and cautious about tightening policy; criticises the CNB's track record of undershooting its inflation target and missing inflation forecasts.

=================FIVE MOST RECENT RATE CHANGES============

September 2006: 25 basis point hike to current 2.50 percent

July 2006: 25 basis points hike to 2.25 percent

October 2005: 25 basis points hike to 2.00 percent

April 2005: 25 bps cut to an all-time low of 1.75 percent

March 2005: 25 bps cut to 2 percent

(Compiled by Marek Petrus in Prague)

Click on [ID:nL26200293] for CNB board members recent remarks on policy

Keywords: CZECH CENTRALBANK/BOARD