Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has been named 2022’s “Global Central Banker of the Year” by UK-based publication The Banker, in recognition of a job well-done in keeping the economy and markets afloat amid the long pandemic.
Diokno is the first Philippine central bank governor awarded the top prize by the Financial Times Ltd.-owned The Banker.
“I am truly honoured to be named The Banker’s ‘Global Central Banker of the Year’. This award recognizes the effort we at the BSP have put forth over this past year -- amid extraordinary challenges,” said Diokno on Wednesday, Jan. 5. Diokno is also the “Asia-Pacific Central Banker of the Year”.
Diokno and the BSP are both reconized by their successful efforts to ensure the stability of the domestic economy’s recovery by focusing on financial security and economic resilience while there is still a COVID-19 public health crisis.
Last year, the cental bank and Diokno kept a “steadfast approach” to monetary policy in support of a recovering GDP which is expected to exceed the 4-5 percent target for 2021. The BSP also injected P2.3 trillion of liquidity into the financial system to ensure adequate money supply to boost market confidence. It supported an “orderly functioning of the financial market” and helped financial institutions cope with the adverse impact of the lockdowns.
“While the entire world has been affected by the pandemic, the BSP has implemented policy responses to enable the Philippines to adapt to new ways of working, doing business, and living,” said Diokno.
“Looking ahead, alongside my colleagues at the BSP, I will continue to work toward a stronger, more technologically savvy, more inclusive, and more sustainable Philippine economy,” he added.
Diokno was appointed BSP’s fifth governor in March, 2019. He was the Duterte administration’s former budget secretary. He has served as budget secretary both in the current government and under the Estrada administration. During the time of President Cory Aquino, he was also undersecretary of the Department of Budget and Management.
Diokno is an economist and is a Professor Emeritus from the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics.
The Banker, an international monthly banking, finance, and business publication, said Diokno is chosen as the best central banker in the world for his role in helping stimulate economic recovery and growth while dealing with the challenges and difficulties of a pandemic.
The Banker also recognized regional central bankers such as: Central Reserve Bank of Peru Chairman Julio Velarde for the Americas; Banque de France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau for Europe; Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Rasheed M Al-Maraj for the Middle East; and Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga for Africa.
Diokno said on Tuesday, Jan. 4, that with the strong fiscal and monetary support, as well as government’s health measures, the economy rebounded in the second quarter last year after five quarters in a row of contraction. The country’s GDP bounced back strongly by 12 percent in the second quarter and sustained this by another 7.1 percent growth in the third quarter.
“With these positive developments, the government raised its full-year growth assumption for 2021 to 5-5.5 percent,” said Diokno.
For this year, the government has a GDP growth target of 7-9 percent. Diokno has always said that the BSP has done quite a lot in aid of a GDP recovery.