CNB receives prestigious award for openness in communication
The Czech National Bank has won the Central Banking Transparency Award 2015 for its openness and use of new communication tools. It has received the award from Central Banking Publications.
According to Central Banking Publications the award represents the recognition of significant improvement and leadership among central banks in open and clear communication across the CNB’s internal and external platforms. Central Banking Publications, whose editorial team and advisory board judge the awards in several categories, stated the following with regard to the award for the CNB: “The CNB has long been considered among the top tier of central banks when it comes to openness. It was singled out as one of the five most transparent central banks by Barry Eichengreen and Nergiz Dincer in their latest index. It has not rested on its laurels. In the period under review, the CNB pushed the envelope even further – becoming the first central bank to publish blog posts from its senior officials.”
CNB Governor Miroslav Singer stated that the award for openness represents the recognition of the efforts of CNB experts and the Bank Board to improve communication. “Transparency is both a necessary condition for central bank independence and a tool for making the conduct of central bank policies smoother, faster and more efficient. I am very happy that the efforts of our staff and our board have been recognised by the professional community. This award underlines that we are capable of improving our standards in the field of communication,” said CNB Governor Miroslav Singer.
After the Bank Board decided in November 2013 to use the exchange rate as a tool for loosening monetary policy, the CNB enhanced its communication procedures to get its decisions and economic analyses across to the public directly and as soon as possible. It introduced the cnBlog section on its website for blog posts by its Governor, Bank Board members and experts. Press conferences and meetings with analysts following the monetary policy meetings of the Bank Board take place earlier and are now webcast live on the CNB website.
“The main economic story, which is presented in the macroeconomic forecast and on which the CNB’s monetary policy decision-making is based, used to be published with a lag of one week in the Inflation Report. To provide better information to the public, the Summary of the Inflation Report and a summary table of macroeconomic indicators have been published on the morning following the decision since the start of last year,” said Marek Petruš, Executive Director of the CNB General Secretariat, who is responsible for the CNB’s overall communication.
Tools newly introduced last year also include discussions between the CNB Governor and leading corporate representatives in individual regions of the Czech Republic, which are also webcast live on the central bank’s website. In addition to launching the cnBlog, the CNB has started to make even more effective use of social networks, in particular Facebook and Twitter.
The Czech National Bank is the second central bank to have been awarded for its ongoing strong improvements in transparency. In 2014, the prize went to Sveriges Riksbank for its pioneering role in central banks’ work to improve openness and clarity in their communication.
CNB Communications Division