(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s government criticized the central bank for wrong-footing cabinet officials over the monetary authority’s potential inflows into this year’s state budget, escalating a conflict with Governor Adam Glapinski.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s administration said on Tuesday that it intends to amend the National Bank of Poland’s charter to force it to better communicate with the finance ministry over its projected profits, most of which are normally siphoned into the state’s coffers.
Glapinski, an ally of the former ruling nationalists, has come under fire from Tusk and his allies over the alleged politicization of his office and disregard for procedures. A parliamentary probe, which is getting under way, may eventually lead to his suspension or ouster. The governor has repeatedly denied any wrong doing.
Last year, when the nationalists were still in power, Glapinski said the 2024 budget could count on 6 billion zloty ($1.5 billion) inflows from the central bank. After they lost elections, the central bank announced a loss of more than 20 billion zloty — meaning no flows into the budget — and the governor blamed the result on a stronger zloty which curbed the local-currency value of Poland’s foreign reserves.
“Accepting the independence of the central bank as an indisputable systemic principle, the cabinet noted with concern the negative financial results reported by the NBP,” the government said in a statement. The central bank has “failed to comply with the principle of good cooperation,” pushing the cabinet to prepare legislation “establishing a legal mechanism for communication between the NBP and the finance ministry in the process of developing a draft state budget.”
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