Zeti named top six best central bankers

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz (pic) has been named as one of the six “World's Best Central Bankers” for 2011 by Global Finance magazine in its October issue.

The other five central bankers were Glenn Stevens of Australia, Stanley Fischer of Israel, Riad Salameh of Lebanon, Amando Tetangco Jr of the Philippines and Fai-Nan Perng of Taiwan.

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke received a “C” in the magazine's annual grading of the world's central bankers. Bernanke's grade was unchanged from last year, while outgoing European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet was given a “B-” after last year's “A.”

Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa also received a “C” while Mark Carney of Canada and the UK's Mervyn King were both given a “B.”

The report card for 37 central bankers, first published in 1994, was based on their scale of success in areas such as controlling inflation, meeting economic growth goals, currency stability and managing interest rates.

The bankers are rated on an “A” to “F” scale, with “A” representing excellent performance and “F” for outright failure.

Global Finance publisher Joseph Giarraputo said in this year's edition, 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,” he said.