The Central Bank’s decision to liquidate the bank was challenged in the Court of Appeal which quashed the Central Bank decision on the ground that the Central Bank had not followed the due procedure given in the Banking Act. Finally, the Government as a part of political decision in the interest of depositors bailed out the bank by vesting the bank with a new state bank set up for the purpose. If the Central Bank was conscious of its responsibilities, it could have resorted to a different path to resolve the bank at the very early stage. World over, central banks are blamed for delayed action, not effective to resolve problems. World over, regulators fall behind the market although they are expected to correct the market. Regulators are burdened with laws, procedures and bureaucracy and lack of latest market information. They work for office hours. However, market participants work 24 hours and are innovative for regulatory arbitrage. The human greed supported with moral hazard of regulation creates bubbles cyclically leading to financial and economic crises from time to time. The regulators and politicians create new laws, but they fail to prevent the next bubble. As a person being in both regulator and markets, I will do a lot of work to address this 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  universal issue hopefully. However, as financial regulators cannot control the greed, financial bubbles and crises are to happen. Finally, the Central Bank independence is the confusing and very technical subject. No Central Bank is divine.
Mojmír Hampl: European integration – a critical economist’s view Speech by Mr Mojmír Hampl, Vice-Governor of the Czech National Bank, at the Europe at Sixty: 1949–2009, Metropolitan University, Prague, 20 November 2009. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, Let me first express my deep gratitude to the organisers for inviting me to give this keynote speech today. And do not take it as a standard, politically correct opening sentence. I really mean it. For me it is quite a rare opportunity to speak frankly and openly on such an important topic, which the process of European integration certainly is, and to speak more as a scholar than a policy-maker. So I will try to do my best and to be outspoken enough to provoke questions and comments after I finish. Therefore, the usual disclaimer is more relevant than ever this time: my opinions are not necessarily the opinions of my employer. I think European integration is a process that provides a lot of food for thought for many social scientists. I will try to approach the topic from the point of view of an economist, but also a citizen and a mere mortal, sharing with you some of my concerns as to how the process of European integration has been evolving so far and where it is most likely heading.