'Global Finance' publishes its Central Banker Report Card for 2012, Bank of Israel Governor scores "A" rating.
By GLOBES/GUY KATSOVICHGlobal Finance has named Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer as one of the world's six top central bankers, with "A" ratings.Global Finance's Central Banker Report Card, published annually since 1994, grades central bank governors of 50 key countries (and the ECB) on an "A" to "F" scale for success in areas such as inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability, and interest rate management. Subjective criteria also apply.Global Finance publisher Joseph Giarraputo said "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."The six "A" rated central bankers in 2012 are Fischer, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines Amando Tetangco Jr., and Governor of the Central Bank of China (Taiwan) Fai-Nan Perng. Fischer also won an "A" in 2011.Bank of Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens (a candidate to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as director general of the IMF, but who lost to France's Christine Lagard), and Governor of the Central Bank of Chile Rodrigo Vergara, received "B+" ratings, while Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke scored a "B."