The term of V. Vasiliauskas ends in less than a month, but there is still no candidate for the post of Governor of the Bank of Lithuania. Why? | Deal

The day is fast approaching when Vitas Vasiliauskas, who has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Lithuania for two terms, will vacate his desk on Gediminas Avenue.

However, neither the employees of the Bank of Lithuania nor the members of the Seimas have official or unofficial knowledge of who will replace him.

The new governor of the Bank of Lithuania must be nominated by the president, who is appointed by the Seimas for a period of five years. However, there is still silence from the presidential palace.

“The candidate for the post of Governor of the Bank of Lithuania is expected to be nominated in the second half of March,” 15 minutes This was succinctly pointed out by the presidential communication group when asked why no candidate for a major post in the country has been announced so far.

Both Seimas members and experts note that it is common practice for candidates for heads of major institutions to introduce themselves to Seimas members and factions in advance, naming their plans and visions. Therefore, the possible new director of the Bank of Lithuania appointed at the last minute can arouse many passions in the Seimas and start a carousel of political disputes, especially considering the tension between the Government and the presidency.

On the other hand, it will take time to prepare to assume the position of chairman of the board of directors of the Bank of Lithuania, but the new candidate will hardly have time to ask for the advice of V. Vasiliauskas.

Who are these candidates?

So far, only one surname of a potential candidate has been publicly revealed from the lips of President G. Naus labiosda.

In mid-January, the head of state said in an interview with Verslo žinios that several candidates were being selected, and one of his candidates could be his main economic adviser, Simonas Krėpšta, who had previously worked at the Bank of Lithuania.

“Based on your competence, based on your diligence, talent, ability to cover very broad topics, in addition to evaluating your previous career in LB, you could also be one of the serious candidates,” G. Nausėda told Verslo žinios.

However, two months after this interview, neither S. Krėpšta nor any other surname were officially named among the candidates for the presidency of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.

It is true that the most active market participants have noted that the Chancellor of the Chancellery of the Presidency Algė Budrytė, who recently announced his retirement from the presidential team, has many years of experience in banking. The reason for his withdrawal was the intention of seeking new professional challenges.

15 minutes R. Budryte could not be reached on Friday and the presidency did not provide specific answers.

The president has commented several times before that various people are considering this position. And the candidacy will be presented a little later “, affirms the answer of the Office of the Presidency. 15 minutes.

Seimas members lack time for discussions

The members of the Seimas also say that they do not know more than the public. Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee (BFK) of Seimas Mykolas Majauskas 15 minutes He claimed that the uncertainty about the candidate for chairman of the board of the Bank of Lithuania was already causing concern.

“Until now, we have no indication of what the honorable president plans to propose to the Seimas for his appointment as governor of the Bank of Lithuania. We do not yet have information about it, formally or informally. The situation is worrying, considering that Vito Vasiliauskas He has less than a month left, ”said the curator.

In his opinion, it would be worthwhile to have enough time for public discussion for a smooth process.

Hearing the candidate’s vision, clear objectives, and even the specific job he would intend to do as governor of the Central Bank of Lithuania. The public should know and the members of the Seimas would help decide this before making a responsible decision. The new manager must have enough time to delve into current problems and take over all the work smoothly, ”says M. Majauskas.

Algirdas Butkevičius, who belongs to a mixed group of Seimas members, agrees that the situation seems “a bit strange.”

“Before the beginning of the spring session, the president always meets with the board of the Seimas and discusses the most current issues, establishes the position of the president on what the Seimas should do. It is a bit strange, because this issue had to be on the list of priority considerations. ” 15 minutes A. Butkevičius said.

A long-term member of the Seimas, who has also served as Prime Minister, states that personnel matters are generally coordinated with the Seimas Board, faction leaders and committee chairmen for a month or two.

“When the issues are agreed in advance in meetings and cabinets, less unnecessary discussions are generated, which are based on emotions that do not adorn the Seimas and other institutions,” added the member of the Seimas.

However, for Kęstutis Glaveckas, who belongs to the Joint Group of Members of the Seimas, this situation does not seem exceptional due to the candidacy of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Lithuania.

“From what I can remember, it always was, we found out a few weeks ago,” recalls Glaveck.

Political scientist: the deliberations of the new LAC leader may become political

Political scientist Virgis Valentinavičius believes that candidates for systematic posts should be appointed a month or two ago so that everyone has time to consider them calmly.

“It just came to our attention then. But these things are not regulated, depending on the mood in the Seimas. For the first time, cases with a Constitutional Court judge take a long time. Just as the president has the right to have an opinion, so too Seimas has it.

The Seimas is not an organization that automatically stamps what the president proposes. Time should be allowed for deliberations, lobbying the presidency, and working with Seimas members to persuade people to vote for one person or another. There is not much to pay in this presidency, so it takes more time. ” 15 minutes declared V. Valentinavičius.

And considering the intersections between the Government and the Presidency, the deliberations of the new Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania may turn political, a political scientist does not rule out such a possibility.

However, in the opinion of V. Valentinavičius, today the position of Governor of the Bank of Lithuania is not as significant as before, when the litas still circulated in the country and the director of the institution could directly influence financial policy. On the other hand, it adds that the timely appointment of the Governor of the Bank of Lithuania is important for its smooth representation of Lithuania in the European Central Bank (ECB).

“The role of the central bank is not as critical as in the United States or the United Kingdom, I don’t think it can be dramatized. On the other hand, if representation at the ECB were to be discontinued, that would not be a good thing. The ECB is the only place where Lithuania can have a say on banking policy, which is important for the well-being of the euro.

Also, Gitan Nauseda already mushrooms, because the news came that the public could possibly be appointed Mr. Krėpšta, when we heard a noise about the non-appointment of Linas Linkevičius and Raimundas Karoblis as ambassadors, because they need to “calm down”. Simply talking about a candidate, where everyone will inevitably demand to be “cold” and cannot be named, attracts much more attention than it should, “thinks V. Valentinavičius.

Meanwhile, the most important thing for business is that the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Lithuania is appointed on time and that there is no deadlock like that of the judges of the Constitutional Court.

“We hope that there will be a political agreement and that the process is fluid. The biggest fear of companies if a manager is not appointed is both the weakening of the prestige and the uncertainty of the institution.” 15 minutes said Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation.

According to him, the company positively evaluates the candidacy of S. Krėpšta publicly appointed by the president. And the most important criteria set by the company for the future director of the Bank of Lithuania are competence and good reputation.

Glaveck adds that the head of the central bank should not be a commercial bank, nor a theorist, but a good expert on monetary policy.

“We need a strong person who has authority, has a good knowledge of banking, has the potential to work with the European Central Bank (ECB), because his main job will be there. Also, to manage our financial system to the maximum, because everything is happening, digitization is coming, virtual currencies. In this context, the bank’s functions are expanding – in addition to the traditional supervisory functions, it is necessary to know the innovations in the field of financial instruments, “said K. Glaveckas to the requirements for the new Governor of the Bank of Lithuania.