MNB Governor Euromoney’s Banker of the Year

The Governor of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), András Simor has been given the ‘Central Bank Governor of the Year for Emerging Europe 2010’ by the Euromoney publication ‘Emerging markets’. He received the award in Washington, D.C. this past week-end.

The Euromoney prize has been awarded to András Simor for his role in the stabilization of Hungary’s crisis-stricken economy and it was also appreciated that he withstood a pressure from the country’s new government.

An article about Simor in ‘Emerging markets’ stresses that Simor intends to serve out his mandate, which lasts until 2013. The government intention to remove him from his position manifested in attacks on Simor for a tax-sheltered investment in Cyprus and in cutting his monthly salary down to about USD 10,000. The European Central Bank immediately protested and regarded these actions as attacks on the sovereignty of the Hungarian Central Bank, which is supposed to be independent of the executive power.

“I need to show the politicians that the central bank independence is sacrosanct. It’s important not for me but for the future of central banking in our country,” Simor is quoted about his stance. The article also notes that "the last thing a country with sluggish growth, deep structural ills and a debt problem needs is a fight between its two key economic players."

András Simor has been at the helm of Hungary’s central bank since March 2007, having arrived from the CEO position of Deloitte Hungary. Earlier, he was also the head of the Budapest Stock Exchange.

He received the award this past Saturday at a ceremony held in Washington D.C. in conjunction with the 2010 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.