MNI POLICY: Kurali To Succeed Virag As NBH MonPol Lead

The National Bank of Hungary’s Barnabas Virag has been moved aside from his role as deputy governor for monetary policy, financial stability and foreign exchange reserve management, MNI can report, with the role instead given to former Hungarian debt office head Zoltan Kurali.

Kurali was headhunted from the AKK by new governor Mihaly Varga, and was formally confirmed for a six-year term as deputy governor following an April 22 hearing. A new organigram was published the same day by the NBH, but without names ascribed to specific roles.

Virag, the public face of the NBH under former governor Gyorgy Matolcsy, will take over as deputy governor for analysis, cash flow and central bank programmes. (See MNI INTERVIEW: Hungary Price Caps To Boost Inflation- Ex-NBH)

No NBH spokesperson was immediately available to comment.