(Releads, adds president, analyst comments, background)
By Petra Vodstrcilova and Martin Dokoupil
PRAGUE, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus
appointed on Friday central banker Mojmir Hampl as a new vice
governor and analyst Eva Zamrazilova as a new member of the
central bank's (CNB) seven-strong rate-setting board.
The president, who has the power to chose central bankers
without government or parliamentary consent, is replacing
hawkish-leaning Vice Governor Ludek Niedermayer, whose second
six-year mandate expires next week.
"I hope these nominations will be seen as a solution to
continue in what the bank board has been doing," Klaus told an
appointment ceremony.
Analysts were surprised by Klaus' choice but they do not
expect the nominations, announced on Thursday and Friday, to
indicate a significant shift in policy at the bank.
"I was surprised by the Hampl choice but I do not think it
will have an impact on policy," said Ceska Sporitelna analyst
David Navratil. "The bank's new communication strategy is a more
important change than a new Vice Governor tag on the door."
The CNB disclosed for the first time this month where it saw
interbank rates going in the form of a fan chart, but said there
was no commitment for the policymakers in the prediction. It
also started disclosing votes cast by board members by name.
"Niedermayer was a clear-cut hawk, but its is not possible
to say that Hampl is hawk or dove from an interest rate view,"
said Miroslav Plojhar, economist at JP Morgan in London. "He is
a man of strong opinions on both sides."
It is not clear yet whether Hampl is going to take over the
whole od Niedermayer's portfolio at the bank, which now includes
monetary and statistics department and human resources and
communication sections.
The policy views of Zamrazilova, a 46-year-old Komercni
Banka analyst, are little known, but analysts expect her to be
rather a moderate. Zamrazilova is only the second woman board
member in the bank's modern history.
The Czech president has been one of the most vocal opponents
of closer European integration in the European Union and
analysts said his nominations might further reinforce the bank's
cautious stance on adoption of the euro.
"She is a euro-sceptic, but her opinions on policy are not
clear to me as I have never heard her comment much on interest
rate settings," Navratil said.
Neither central bankers, whose six-year mandates start on
March 1, commented on monetary policy after the appointment
ceremony. The CNB next meets to set interest rates on March 26.
A rise in inflation to a nine-year high of 7.5 percent in
January has sparked expectations that the CNB could delay any
rate cuts beyond end-2008.
It even revived speculation the bank may tighten policy
further after making 200 basis points of rate increases since
late 2005.
The CNB last raised the key two-week repo rate by 25 basis
points on February 7 to a nearly six-year high of 3.75 percent.
(Writing by Martin Dokoupil)
