How does the Bank Board make decisions

As a rule, the Bank Board discusses monetary policy settings eight times a year. In exceptional cases, it holds extraordinary meetings. A new forecast is available to it four times a year. In the meantime, it assesses the situation based on currently available information from the perspective of the risks and uncertainties of the latest forecast and their effect on the inflation and interest rate outlook. Shortly after the end of each monetary policy meeting, the decision of the Bank Board is published on the CNB website and presented at a press conference.

On the day of the rate decision

The monetary policy meeting opens with the Monetary Department presenting the macroeconomic forecast, its risks and uncertainties, and other monetary policy considerations. In addition, the Monetary Department gives the Bank Board its recommendation on interest rates and overall communication. The meeting is also attended by representatives of the Financial Stability Department, the Financial Markets and Resolution Department and the Communications Division.

The presentation and the first round of questions is followed by the second part of the meeting, where only the Bank Board and the heads of these units are present. The Bank Board members express their views on the current situation and indicate how they will vote. At the end of the meeting, the Bank Board votes on interest rates and exceptionally also on other monetary policy measures.

The outcome of the meeting is then published and presented at a press conference in the afternoon in the form of a statement of the Bank Board. The ratio of the votes cast and the reasons for the decision are disclosed along with the decision itself.

Eight days later

Minutes of the Bank Board meeting are published on the Friday following the monetary policy meeting. They present key arguments attributed to specific Bank Board members so the public can learn about the arguments made during the meeting.

When a new forecast is available, the Monetary Policy Report is published together with the minutes of the meeting. It describes the forecast, the baseline and additional scenarios, and monetary policy considerations. When a new forecast is not available, a description of the risks to the inflation forecast assessed by economists from the Monetary Department is published.

Six years after the monetary policy meeting

All detailed transcripts of the Bank Board’s monetary policy meetings, along with all the inputs that were available to the Bank Board for its decisions in the whole of the given year, are published at the end of January six years later.