After two years, there is another amendment to Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and amending certain laws with related regulations. Let us briefly summarise what the main changes will include and whom they concern.

As expected, the central bank raised its key repo rate from 0.50% to 0.75% at its August meeting. Although the bank board discussed a 50bp hike, as proposed by the new CNB forecast, in the end it preferred a gradual normalisation of monetary policy. According to Governor Rusnok, the CNB should continue to pursue gradual normalisation for the rest of the year. While the CNB forecast calls for a repo rate of 1.50% at year-end, we expect 1.25% due to the cautious approach of central bankers. However, we already expect a repo rate of 2.25% for end-2022, while the CNB expects 2%. The difference is mainly our expectation of a stronger economic recovery, with a slightly weaker koruna.

Prohibition on payment of profit shares, voting at general meetings or participation in public procurement

The new Act on the Register of Beneficial Owners introduced a useful novelty that was supposed to simplify the life of registrants: automatic transcriptions of beneficial owners. Although the law came into force on 1 June 2021, automatic transcriptions still do not work properly. Registrants are often threatened with penalties even if they have not made any mistakes.