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M. Continuo

Poland undecided on quick c.bank head appointment


    WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's acting president Bronislaw Komorowski said on Thursday he would decide next week whether to quickly appoint a new central bank governor, backtracking from earlier comments.

    Poland's central bank governor Slawomir Skrzypek died on Saturday along with President Lech Kaczynski and 94 others in a plane crash in Russia.

    Komorowski is waiting for legal opinions on whether current acting governor Piotr Wiesiolek may head both the rate-setting monetary policy council and manage the central bank.

    Some economists say there is no need to rush with appointing a new governor from an economic point of view while central bankers have said the bank continues to function normally and that its policies would be undisturbed by the governor's sudden death.

    Others say the mandate of the acting governor is unclear.

    "Opinions on the issue of the central bank governor are changing," Komorowski said. "I will get legal opinions by end of this week. Next week I will make a decision (whether to quickly appoint the governor)."

    "If I conclude that the deputy governor can be the monetary policy council's chairman and that the council functions well, the I won't hurry. But if I conclude that that the council doesn't function well, then I will act fast."

    The governor heads the bank's management board and chairs the bank's rate-setting MPC. The law is unclear whether an acting central bank governor can also chair the MPC and vote on interest rate decisions.

    (Reporting by Patryk Wasilewski, writing by Karolina Slowikowska; Editing by Toby Chopra)