NEW YORK, August 24, 2015 — Global Finance magazine has named the heads of the Central Banks of the Czech Republic, the European Union, India, Israel, Malaysia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, and Taiwan as the World’s Best Central Bankers over the past year, in recognition of their achievement of a prestigious “A” grade on Global Finance’s Central Banker Report Cards.


In addition, the Central Bankers of Colombia, Saudi Arabia and the United States earned “A-” grades.

The Central Banker Report Cards, published annually by Global Finance since 1994, grade the central bank governors of nearly 75 key countries (and the European Union) 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. This year, 5 central banks are being graded for the first time (Botswana, Iceland, Namibia, Paraguay and Uganda).

Global Finance publisher and editorial director Joseph Giarraputo notes, “Global economies are starting to recover. This comes despite a number of challenges, including a strengthening US dollar and the end of the Federal Reserve’s easy money policy. Central bankers remain crucial in overcoming these hurdles. Sound monetary policies can dampen the effects of currency swings and rising interest rates—and thus spur economic growth. As our scores show, some central banks have fared better than others in devising such policies. Our grades also reflect the willingness of central bankers to stand up to political interference as well as their ability to influence government policies on spending and foreign investment.”

The full Central Banker Report Cards 2015 report will be published in the October issue of Global Finance.

The Central Bankers earning an “A” rating in the Global Finance Central Banker Report Card feature publishing in the October issue are:
 
Czech Republic 
Miroslav Singer 
A
European Union 
Mario Draghi 
A
India 
Raghuram Rajan 
A
Israel 
Karnit Flug 
A
Malaysia 
Zeti Akhtar Aziz 
A
Paraguay 
Carlos Fernandez Valdovinos 
A
Peru 
Julio Velarde Flores 
A
Philippines 
Amando Tetangco Jr. 
A
Taiwan 
Fai-Nan Perng 
A
 
The Central Bankers earning an “A-” rating are:
 
Colombia 
José Dario Uribe Escobar 
A- 
Saudi Arabia 
Fahad al-Mubarak 
A- 
Unites States 
Janet Yellen 
A- 

Full Listing | 2015 Central Banker Report Cards

CENTRAL BANKERS

2015 GRADE 

2014 GRADE 

The Americas
Argentina Alejandro Vanoli D N/A*
Bolivia Marcelo Zabalaga Estrada B+ B
Brazil Alexandre Tombini B- B-
Canada Stephen Poloz B- B
Chile Rodrigo Vergara B+ A-
Colombia José Dario Uribe Escobar A- A-
Costa Rica Olivier Castro Pérez B B
Ecuador Diego Martinez Too early to say B-
Guatemala Julio Roberto Suarez D N/A*
Mexico Agustin Carstens B+ B
Paraguay Carlos Fernandez Valdovinos A N/A**
Peru Julio Velarde Flores A B+
United States Janet Yellen A- Too early to say
Uruguay Mario Bergara B N/A*
Venezuela Nelson Merentes D D
Europe
Belarus Pavel V. Kallaur Too early to say N/A*
Bulgaria Dimitar Radev Too early to say N/A*
Czech Republic Miroslav Singer A B+
Denmark Lars Rohde B+ B+
European Union Mario Draghi A A-
Hungary György Matolcsy B B-
Iceland Már Guomundsson B+ N/A**
Norway Oystein Olsen B+ B-
Poland Marek Belka B B-
Romania Mugur Isarescu B B
Russia Elvira Nabiullina B B
Sweden Stefan Ingves B B+
Switzerland Thomas Jordan B+ A
Turkey Erdem Basci C B-
Ukraine Valeria O. Gontareva C Too early to say
United Kingdom Mark Carney B B-
Asia
Australia  Glenn Stevens  B+ 
Azerbaijan  Elman Rustamov 
Bangladesh  Atiur Rahman  B- 
China  Zhou Xiaochuan  B- 
Hong Kong  Norman Chan 
India  Raghuram Rajan 
Indonesia  Agus Martowardojo  B- 
Japan  Haruhiko Kuroda  B+ 
Kazakhstan  Kairat Kelimbetov  B- 
Malaysia  Zeti Akhtar Aziz 
New Zealand  Graeme Wheeler 
Pakistan  Ashraf Mahmood Wathra  B-  Too early to say 
Philippines  Amando Tetangco Jr. 
Singapore  Ravi Menon  B- 
South Korea  Lee Ju Yeol  Too early to say 
Sri Lanka  Arjuna Mahendran  Too early to say  N/A* 
Taiwan  Fai-Nan Perng 
Thailand  Veerathai Santiprabhob  Too early to say  N/A* 
Uzbekistan  Fayzulla Mullajanov  C- 
Vietnam  Nguyen Van Binh  B-  B- 
Middle East & Africa 
Algeria  Mohammed Laksaci  B- 
Angola  José Pedro de Morais  Too early to say  N/A* 
Bahrain  Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj  B-  B- 
Botswana  Linah Mohohlo  B+  N/A** 
Egypt  Hisham Ramez 
Ethiopia  Teklewold Atnafu  B+  B- 
Ghana  Henry Kofi Wampah 
Iraq  Abdul Basit Turki  B- 
Israel  Karnit Flug 
Jordan  Ziad Fariz  B+ 
Kenya  Patrick Njoroge  Too early to say  N/A* 
Kuwait  Mohammad Yusuf Al-Hashel  B-  B+ 
Lebanon  Riad Salamé  B+ 
Morocco  Abdellatif Jouahri  B+ 
Namibia  Ipumbu Shiimi  N/A** 
Nigeria  Godwin Emefiele  Too early to say 
Oman  Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali  B+ 
Qatar  Abdullah Saud Al-Thani  B+ 
Saudi Arabia  Fahad al-Mubarak  A- 
South Africa  Lesetja Kganyago  B+  N/A* 
Tunisia  Chedly Ayari  B- 
Uganda  Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile  N/A** 
United Arab Emirates  Mubarak Rashid Al Mansouri  N/A* 

* Central Bank governor was graded in 2014, however a different governor held the office.
** New country addition to the Central Bank Report Cards in 2015, therefore no grade was given in 2014.


For editorial information please contact:
Andrea Fiano | afiano@gfmag.com

To obtain rights to use Global Finance’s World’s Best Banks 2015 logo, please contact:
Chris Giarraputo | chris@gfmag.com

The unauthorized use of Global Finance Award logos is strictly prohibited.

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About Global Finance

Global Finance, founded in 1987, has a circulation of 50,050 and readers in 180 countries. Global Finance’s audience includes senior corporate and financial officers responsible for making investment and strategic decisions at multinational companies and financial institutions. Its website — GFmag.com — offers analysis and articles that are the heritage of 28 years of experience in international financial markets. Global Finance is headquartered in New York, with offices around the world. Global Finance regularly selects the top performers among banks and other providers of financial services. These awards have become a trusted standard of excellence for the global financial community.