FACTBOX-Communication practices of central European c.banks

...the public and markets, including publishing its own interest rate outlook.

The following is an overview of communication practices of the CNB and three other central European central banks which also use inflation targets to set interest rates.

For a related news analysis, double click on the code in brackets: [nL20244467]

CZECH NATIONAL BANK (CNB):

- brief policy statement made to announce a policy decision;

- governor, or in his absence one of two deputy governors, holds a news conference on the day of the decision;

- count of votes for and against a policy proposal published;

- abridged minutes of policy meetings published on the Friday of the second week after the meeting takes place;

- regular statement made on monthly consumer inflation data releases saying how the data differ from the bank's quarterly forecast;

- quarterly inflation report published, detailing forecast assumptions and including a statement vaguely describing what interest rate path is consistent with the inflation outlook.

NATIONAL BANK OF POLAND (NBP):

- press release made to announce a policy decision, including reasons for any action taken, a broad overview of the economic situation at home and abroad, and policymakers' assessment of the balance of risks to the economic situation;

- a press conference follows Monetary Council meetings;

- voting records of individual policymakers made public with at least one month delay, but only if a motion to change policy is proposed at a meeting;

- quarterly inflation report released, including an inflation projection based on the assumption of constant interest rates over the forecast horizon.

NATIONAL BANK OF HUNGARY (NBH):

- press release made to announce a decision, along with the Monetary Council's assessment of economic conditions;

- a press conference follows council meetings;

- minutes to council meetings released, including votes cast by individual members;

- quarterly report on inflation released with a "conditional" inflation forecast, assuming constant interest rates and exchange rates over the prediction horizon and giving no signal regarding future policy;

- NBH publishes neither an assumption concerning the future path of interest rates nor a policy bias to guide markets;

- markets are watching to see if the NBH changes its communications after Andras Simor succeeds the outgoing Zsigmond Jarai as the central bank governor in March.

NATIONAL BANK OF SLOVAKIA (NBS):

- teleconference is held to announce a decision, followed by a press conference and statement explaining the factors behind a decision;

- the overall number of votes cast for each policy proposal is published;

- the NBS has published a quarterly medium-term economic prediction, drawn up to imply a non-constant interest rate trajectory since 2005;

- the NBS gives the public no explicit guidance about the outlook for policy apart from saying whether a tightening or a loosening of monetary conditions -- assuming changes in either interest rates or exchange rates, or both -- is implicit in the forecast.

((Compiled by Marek Petrus with input from Karolina Slowikowska in Warsaw and Sandor Peto in Budapest; Reuters Messaging: rm://marek.petrus.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com or marek.petrus@reuters.com; Tel: +420 224 190 477; editing by David Stamp))

Keywords: CZECH CENTRALBANK

[Reuters/Finance.cz]