Zeti still ranks among world's best central bankers

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia governor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, maintains her position among the heads of the central banks named by Global Finance magazine as the World's Best Central Bankers over the past year.

Zeti was one of the six heads of central bank scoring an "A" in the Central Banker Report Card published by Global Finance.

She scored an "A" last year and also in 2010.

The other heads of the central banks who maintained the "A" score include Amando Tetangco Jr of the Philippines, Taiwan's Fai-Nan Perng, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens, and Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer.

A newcomer was Mark Carney of Canada, who last year received a "B+".

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke improved his score to "B" from "C" last year.

The "Central Banker Report Card" feature, published annually by Global Finance since 1994, grades central bank governors of 50 key countries (and the European Central Bank) on an "A" to "F" scale for success in areas such as inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability and interest rate management.

"A" represents an excellent performance down through "F" for outright failure. Subjective criteria also apply.

Global Finance publisher Joseph Giarraputo says: "During one of the toughest years on record, the World's Central Bankers were tested as never before.

"Every year, we assess the determination of central bankers to stand up to political interference, and their efforts at influencing their governments on such issues as spending and economic openness to foreign investment and financial services." - Bernama