Lietuvos bankas
Lietuvos bankas ( German Lithuanian Bank ) is the central bank of Lithuania . In its current form, it goes back to the establishment by the Lithuanian government in 1990 (taking over the structure, real estate and personnel of the Lithuanian branch of the Soviet state bank ) and is based in Vilnius . Her tasks until December 31, 2014 included securing the Lithuanian currency, the litas . It is a member of the European System of Central Banks .
history
The beginnings of central banking in Lithuania go back to 1768, when the Seimas decided to found the state underwriting bank, Bank Polski I Litewski . It was not until 1792 that the project began to be implemented. It was planned to set up bank accounts in Vilnius, Grodno and Minsk . After the unsuccessful uprising of Tadeusz Kościuszko and after the 3rd partition of Poland-Lithuania in 1795, Lithuania lost its statehood and with it the practical possibility of having its own currency system.
In 1918, after it declared independence, Lithuania did not have its own underwriting bank for a few years. The Reichsmark was recognized as the national currency on the basis of an international agreement with the Eastern Loan Fund. Hyperinflation began in mid-1922. Lithuania passed laws on the establishment of the central bank Lietuvos bankas and the introduction of the national currency litas . Lietuvos bankas was founded as a joint stock company ( Akcinė bendrovė ). The share capital was 12 million litas. 80% of the shares were owned by the Lithuanian state.
In 1922, Lietuvos bankas officially began operating as the Lithuanian central bank . Vladas Jurgutis was appointed the bank's first managing director by the President of Lithuania.
In March 1990, Lietuvos bankas was re-established, continuing the tradition of the bank founded in the prewar period. 1990–1992 Lithuania belonged to the Russian ruble zone . In 1992, a talon was introduced as a temporary currency (popularly known as vagnorkos, vagnorėliai , after Gediminas Vagnorius ), initially in addition to the ruble for certain groups of goods. In 1993 the litas was introduced. It was possible to contain the inflation which was initially over 100% and to stabilize the rate of the Lithuanian currency.
management
- From 1996 to 2011 Reinoldijus Šarkinas (* 1946)
- From April 16, 2011 Vitas Vasiliauskas (* 1973)
Board
- Vitas Vasiliauskas, lawyer, former lawyer
- Raimondas Kuodis , professor
- Ingrida Šimonytė , former Minister of Finance
- Tomas Garbaravičius
- Marius Jurgilas
Introduction of the euro: dispute over Lithuania
On 27 June 2004, Lithuania joined together with Estonia and Slovenia the ERM II at. Lithuania originally wanted to introduce the euro in 2007. The Lithuanian Finance Minister Zigmantas Balčytis officially submitted the documents for the introduction of the euro on March 16, 2006, despite a warning from the European Commission. However, the Commission recommended postponing the inclusion of Lithuania because of its 0.06 percentage point high inflation rate.
At the summit of the heads of state and government on June 15 and 16, 2006 in Brussels , the application was rejected. In relation to the euro area, the inflation rate in Lithuania would have been low enough to meet the admission criterion; However, the Maastricht Treaty also provides for EU countries without the euro as a reference. According to some European EU financial experts, Lithuania could still have been accepted.
However, the EU Commission and the ECB did not accept this position in order not to lose credibility. Lithuania could thus set a precedent for the future introduction of the euro in the Central and Eastern European countries ( CEEC ). Due to the strict rules governing the introduction of the euro in the CEEC, the suspicion could de facto arise that the old member states enjoy privileges. The case of Lithuania could spark a dispute over the interpretation of the convergence criteria mentioned in Article 121 of the EC Treaty.
It is questionable whether the Baltic countries could represent a burden for the euro area if they introduced the euro despite not fully meeting the criteria; the GDP of the largest Baltic republic (Lithuania) reached only 4/5 of the smallest German state ( Bremen ) in 2005 . In addition, Lithuania and Estonia have tied their currencies ( litas and krona ) to the euro with a currency board for several years, thereby unilaterally anticipating monetary union . They successfully kept the exchange rate peg even during the ruble crisis .
On June 27, 2014, the heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) gave their approval for Lithuania to join the euro, which took place on January 1, 2015.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The EU and Lithuania are fighting over the euro . FAZ.NET, March 10, 2006
- ↑ Lithuania is apparently not yet allowed to introduce the Euro in 2007 . In: Die Welt , June 7, 2006
- ^ Claus Hecking, Andrzej Rybak, Wolfgang Proissl, Mark Schrörs: Change of mood (on the failed introduction of the euro by Lithuania) . ( Memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Financial Times Deutschland , December 28, 2006
- ↑ Patrick Welter: The benefit of the euro rules . FAZ.NET, March 21, 2006
- ↑ EU heads of state and government for Lithuania to join the euro.Retrieved on June 27, 2014
- ↑ FAZ: With Lithuania, a new era begins for the euro area , accessed on January 1, 2015
Coordinates: 54 ° 41 ′ 10 ″ N , 25 ° 17 ′ 0 ″ E