Governor Mário Centeno said on Wednesday that the Bank of Portugal is comfortable with its institutions functioning and declined to answer further questions about the controversy that arose after a conversation with the prime minister.
“There is a statement from the Board of Directors [do Banco de Portugal] which contains everything there is to know about the decision of the Ethics Committee [do Banco de Portugal]. As long as there are institutions that work, the Banco de Portugal is very comfortable,” Centeno said in response to a question about the Ethics Commission’s assessment of his behavior in the controversy over his appointment as Prime Minister.
Centeno then refused to answer further questions about the “invitation” to eventually take over a PS government, emphasizing that today’s press conference is about the Financial Stability Report.
“We present the Financial Stability Report, all the questions you ask me have been answered. There will be no further comments on this matter here this morning,” Centeno added.
Last week was marked by controversy over the name of Mário Centeno (former Minister of Finance of the PS governments), who was proposed by the current Prime Minister to replace him in the position (after António Costa resigned due to an investigation in the courts) , which led to criticism from opposition parties, as they believed that Centeno’s independence as governor was at stake, and to a dispute between Mário Centeno and the President of the Republic.
Speaking to the Financial Times newspaper on Sunday, November 12, the Governor of the Bank of Portugal stated that he had “received an invitation from the President and the Prime Minister to reflect and consider the possibility of leading the government” and that he was “very far from making a decision”.
In response, from Sunday to Monday in the early hours of the Republic, the President of the Republic published a note denying that he had invited anyone to head the government, including the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno, or any had allowed contact for this purpose. is made.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statement prompted Centeno to correct his statement: “It is unequivocal that the President of the Republic did not invite me to lead the government” as he chose to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic, Mário said Centeno said in a statement.
Mário Centeno’s behavior led to an extraordinary meeting of the Bank of Portugal’s ethics committee to be evaluated, which ruled that the governor fulfilled his general duties of conduct and “acted with the required reserve”. However, he added that “on an objective level, the subsequent political and media developments could damage the image of the Bank,” as “the defense of the institution is even more relevant in a period like the current one.”
In this sense, the chairman of the committee recommended that “the Governor, the Government and the Bank as a whole remain committed to protecting the image and reputation of Banco de Portugal”.
The Board of Directors of Banco de Portugal, led by the Governor, considered that “the conditions for the independence of Banco de Portugal and its bodies to exercise their powers have always been met”.
In the European Union, MEPs from the PPE (the European political family of which the PSD is a part) sent questions on this subject to the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, asking what they consider a ‘serious issue’. violation” of the code of conduct of bank managers.
Source: DN
