Czech National Bank governor Zdeněk Tůma steps down

Respected Czech National Bank governor Zdeněk Tůma stepped down after a decade in the job on Wednesday. Mr. Tůma decided to leave a few months before his term expired to clear the way for his successor and other board appointments. Czech President Vaclav Klaus rounded off those board appointments on Tuesday when he named Kamil Janáček to the board of the Czech National Bank. Mr Janáček is an economics professor and the chief economist of Komerční banka. At the same time, Mr Klaus promoted Vladimír Tomšík to vice-governor. He replaces Miroslav Singer, who was recently selected to become the new central bank governor. Mr. Tůma built up the bank’s and his own reputation during his long term. He was recently named one of the world top seven central bankers by the Global Finance magazine.