On Tuesday, 25 November, the newly renovated Aula of the University of South Bohemia came alive with an extraordinary event. In cooperation with the Faculty of Economics of the University of South Bohemia, the Czech National Bank organised the prestigious CNB Discussion Forum, which brought leading experts from the Czech economic and financial environment to České Budějovice.
Among the guests were the CNB Vice-Governor Prof. Dr. Ing. Jan Frait, members of the Bank Board, Jakub Seidler, PhD, and Ing. Jan Procházka, Chief Economist of ČSOB, Jan Bureš, Mgr. Ing. Dominik Stroukal, Ph.D., from the Metropolitan University Prague, and also representatives of the domestic academic sphere - doc. Ing. Tomáš Volek, Ph.D., from the Department of Applied Economics and Economics, and Ing. Petr Zeman, Ph.D., from the Department of Accounting and Finance of the Faculty of Economics, USB.
Great participation and lively debate
The Forum attracted nearly 300 participants from academics, professionals, and students. This year's graduates from our faculty schools, who came to learn about the practical application of economics, were also present. Those who could not get into the hopelessly full USB Auditorium could watch the event via live stream.
The debate was divided into two thematic blocks. In the first panel, entitled "Macroeconomic Developments in the Czech Republic and Abroad", Jakub Seidler, a member of the Bank Board, along with Jan Bures, Chief Economist at ČSOB, and Tomáš Volk from the Faculty of Economics at the University of South Bohemia, discussed the current economic situation. Jakub Seidler drew attention to the continuing elevated inflation in services. This is one of the main reasons why the CNB Board has kept interest rates unchanged for some time.
In the second session, entitled "The Future of Banking, CBDC and Modern Market Infrastructure", Board Member Jan Procházka, together with Dominik Stroukal from the Metropolitan University Prague and Petr Zeman from the Faculty of Economics at the University of South Bohemia, opened the topic of the digitisation of banking or the future role of central banks' digital currencies. There was also a discussion on instant payments, whose popularity is growing steadily among people and companies in the Czech Republic, as well as on the digitisation of payments, the possibilities of central bank digital currencies and the development of financial technology.
Both panels offered an extremely fruitful discussion, which included inspiring questions from the audience, especially from the younger part. It was their openness and expertise that underlined the importance of holding similar events on university grounds. The CNB Discussion Forum thus confirmed that linking academia with institutions of economic practice is essential for a better understanding of economic processes and for the development of professional debate in the region.
The Faculty of Economics of the South Bohemia University thanks the Czech National Bank for initiating and implementing the event and the University of South Bohemia for its support and ensuring the smooth running of the whole day. A recording of the entire forum is available on the CNB website for those interested.
Photo: EF JU/CNB
