For example, argued Stack, they like to deliver something they regard as perfect straight away, and they do not like it when their boss finds fault with what they deliver and firmly believe is perfect from the very beginning. They are essentially very disciplined, and that is the gospel truth. As an American, Mr Stack had an unbiased view and a great eye and feel for this sort of thing. And he was in many aspects right and revealed what was hidden to many of us. I can confirm that these similarities between Czechs and Austrians are particularly visible in Central European and international teams. I have been reminded of them on many occasions. The last time was fairly recently, when we were negotiating the new position of our countries in the mighty International Monetary Fund with colleagues and friends from the Austrian central bank. This year we achieved an incredible outcome: Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary will have the right to appoint an executive director – one of the 24 executive directors in the IMF – each country for a fixed term. As a group of Central European countries we will therefore have the same representation as far larger and more populous  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  countries.
Meanwhile, the head of the Czech National Bank goes by the name of Singer, his deputy is a certain Mr Hampl, and our executive directors include a Mr Schmidt and a Mr Bauer. In other words, there is some truth in the idea that we are close. I believe this is something we can build upon. I am very much looking forward to discussing with you. Vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches