Czech PM: fast-track bill aims to untie central bank’s hands in bond market

The government aims to fast-track legislation to untie the Czech central bank’s hands to be active in the bond market. But Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) told MPs on Tuesday that does not mean any immediate purchases.

The Finance Ministry said in a document accompanying the bill that the government was just fast-tracking, as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.

The amendment widening the central bank’s powers to buy securities on the market does not alter a ban on monetary financing nor allow the central bank to enter the primary government debt market.

The Finance Ministry plans to issue government bonds worth 33 billion crowns in April. As of December, it had planned to issue medium- and long-term bonds worth at least 120 billion crowns on the domestic market in 2020.

Author: Brian Kenety