Slovak central bank (NBS) governor Ivan Šramko said on June 24 that he lacks sufficient information to conclude whether the revaluation of the Slovak crown's central parity to the euro on May 28 was leaked to financial groups, as the opposition has alleged.
Šramko noted that although a revaluation was expected, stoking currency-market activity, official information was not made available until the afternoon of May 28.
"Due to the developments in currency markets on the morning of May 28, when the exchange rate nearly touched the lower (stronger) end of the fluctuation band within the ERM-II exchange-rate mechanism, relevant European authorities decided to revalue the central parity level of the Slovak crown against the euro,” he said.
The opposition has accused Finance Minister Ján Počiatek of giving advance warning of the revaluation to the J&T financial group, which made millions on the currency market from last-minute transactions. Počiatek was seen spending time on a yacht with Ivan Jakabovič, one of J&T’s co-owners.
Počiatek is facing a no-confidence motion in Parliament on June 25 and Parliament has asked the central bank to submit a joint report on the issue by September. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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