The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) held the Lámfalussy Lectures Conference for the ninth time in 2023, named after Alexandre Lamfalussy, the Hungarian-born economist and renowned European finance expert. The conference brought together high-level policymakers and leading global financial experts to discuss the new dimensions of central banks' post-pandemic activities, future economic challenges, and the most pressing issues in the financial environment.
At the conference, Catherine L. Mann, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, delivered the keynote speech. She addressed how central banks utilize data to identify economic turning points and how this is integrated into monetary policy decision-making. The event's professional panel discussions covered current topics such as the prospects of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the role of central banks in promoting the green economy.
Based on the recommendation of the MNB's professional committee, the Lámfalussy Award, named after Baron Alexandre Lamfalussy, the "father of the Euro," was presented at the gala dinner preceding the conference to Robert Holzmann, Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). Robert Holzmann was appointed Governor of the Austrian National Bank in 2019. Prior to this, he held key positions in international organizations (World Bank, IMF, OECD) and was also active in academia. He has published 41 books and over 200 articles on financial, fiscal, and social policy topics.
The Popovics Award in 2023 was granted to Zsolt Kuti, Executive Director for Monetary Policy, Financial Analysis, and Statistics at the MNB. Zsolt Kuti began his professional career at the MNB in 2008. Since 2014, he has been responsible for preparing monetary policy strategy decisions, initially as a Director and from 2021 onwards as an Executive Director.