Polish central bank chief questioned in watchdog scandal

Bloomberg

Polish central bank Governor Adam Glapinski is undergoing “routine” questioning by prosecutors in relation to a bribery scandal that led to the arrest of the country’s banking watchdog chairman.
The latest in a string of central bankers from emerging Europe becoming involved in legal probes, Glapinski has rebuffed calls to step down from opposition parties that are demanding a parliamentary investigation into bribery allegations against the former head of the Financial Supervisory Commission.
Glapinski has denied any involvement in the case in which the chairman — a former protege — is accused of soliciting illicit payments.
Ewa Bialik, a spokeswoman for the state prosecutor’s office, said by phone that Glapinski “was scheduled for questioning in the routine course of the investigation.” The announcement triggered a temporary selloff in the zloty.
In November, newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza released a transcript of a conversation suggesting the former head of the banking watchdog, whose name can’t be published without his permission, offered favourable treatment to banks controlled by Leszek Czarnecki in return for employing a recommended lawyer. The chairman resigned the same day and has been under arrest for two months.
The scandal gave rise to doubts about the quality of banking supervision, which in Poland, unlike in some other European countries, remains independent from the central bank.
While Glapinski said last month the central bank “has no skeletons in the closet” and blamed political enemies for trying to link him to the scandal, he also sought a court order to remove online media reports suggesting he was involved. Glapinski’s six-year term as governor of the central bank is due to end in 2022.
“Investors, especially foreign ones, are interested in the stability of Glapinski’s position,” said Rafal Benecki, chief economist at ING NV’s Polish unit. “Were it endangered in any way, that would lead to temporary jitters in the market, but only tem-porary as macroeconomic fundamentals are strong.”