MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK
made already when the pandemic began to unfold in Hungary, i.e. in February and March 2020. – During the emergency, the MNB – in the spirit of the measures taken by the Government of Hungary and on the basis of its instructions – took the necessary measures, and therefore it was able to perform its daily tasks properly, completely and on time and could protect its employees from the impacts of the pandemic. – From March to June, the vast majority of MNB employees performed their tasks in home office (by virtue of the extraordinary creation of a general opportunity to work from home and the establishment of the conditions for it). – The level of service remained unchanged in terms of basic tasks, with employees sometimes carrying out their tasks from home with an increased workload. – The associated operational risks increased in some cases, justified by the need to manage the pandemic (prior to the pandemic, only allowing access to critical systems operating directly from the internal network in the context of home working, for which appropriate controls were developed). – In several areas, the MNB put in place the conditions to properly manage another emergency. The most important task was to build IT background capacity for a large number of home workers. Means of disinfection, masks, gloves and body temperature gauges were purchased. – In a special section on the intranet interface, the MNB continuously informed its employees about the measures that were introduced and taken, the standards of conduct to be applied during the pandemic and the health carerelated instructions. – T ransition: In June, the MNB carried out smooth transition and without any problems. During both the transition period and the second wave, the COVID work group continuously monitored the international and domestic evolution of the pandemic. Following the end of the first wave of infections, it returned to its original working schedule in line with the decision taken by the Hungarian Government. – Managing the second wave of the health emergency: Once challenges have been successfully addressed, it is appropriate to review the experience gained in real-life situations and to incorporate the established practices into instructions and procedures. As the second wave
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began to unfold, proposals were made to introduce further restrictions or to ease decisions were taken earlier, taking into account government measures and the international pandemic situation. Due to the significantly increased health risks, the MNB introduced new measures and rules, and took additional precautionary measures in order to protect employees. During the pandemic, the MNB was in constant contact with the central banks of the European Union as a member of a working group set up for this situation in order to share emergency management experience. After the final end of the pandemic, the emergency period will be evaluated under the leadership of the COVID work group, and the necessary amendments to the action plans and regulations will be implemented.
3.14 INTRODUCTION OF THE ESCB COMMITTEES The ESCB Committees play an important role in the work of the ECB’s decision-making bodies. The basic role of these committees is to prepare decisions and facilitate coordination as per the horizontal division of various central bank duties, covering all areas of central banking operations. The senior executives and relevant experts of the MNB play an active role in the work of these committees and in the activities of the committees’ working groups. Since Hungary’s accession to the European Union, the MNB’s management and experts have been participating in the work of the ESCB committees and their working groups. This membership and cooperation provides an opportunity for national central banks to work together and formulate coordinated positions, and also enables the representatives of national central banks to obtain information on the ECB’s activities on a regular basis. On 31 December 2020, fifteen ESCB committees and two other committees assisting the work of the ESCB were in operation. In connection with the launch of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in November 2014, in addition to the two existing configurations (euro area composition and ESCB composition) a number of committees have held meetings in SSM composition since 2014 as well, with the attendance of representatives of the supervisory authorities operating as organisations independent of the central banks of the Member States participating in the SSM. The following provides a brief summary of the fields of activity (mandates) of each ESCB committee:
