Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said Thursday, Nov. 7, that the work of a central banker is a “tough job,” but it is a responsibility and a challenge that he has gladly taken on for his fellow Filipinos.
Remolona made these remarks after being recognized as a grade “A-” central banker by the New York-based Global Finance Magazine, which named him one of 25 outstanding central bank leaders in the world. According to the publication’s 2024 Central Banker Report Cards, Remolona received an “A-” score based on his performance in the areas of inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability, and interest rate management.
“Central banking is a tough job, but we have many sources of inspiration, foremost of which are my fellow Filipinos, who deserve all we can do to provide the foundation for their economic well-being,” said Remolona, who accepted his trophy on Oct. 26, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
In August, it was first announced that Remolona had debuted on the “World’s Best Central Bank Chiefs” list. This was the first time he was graded by Global Finance after his appointment as BSP’s seventh governor on June 24, 2023. He will serve a six-year term that began on July 3 last year and will conclude in 2029.
Last August, Global Finance released only the names of central bank governors who received the highest grades of “A+,” “A,” or “A-.” The full Central Banker Report Cards grade list was announced in October of this year.
Published annually since 1994, the Central Banker Report Cards have recognized past BSP governors as “A” and “B” listers, including former governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. and the late Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. Global Finance grades central bank governors from nearly 100 key countries, territories, and districts, including the European Union, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Bank for Central African States, and the Central Bank of West African States.
According to Joseph Giarraputo, founder and editorial director of Global Finance, “Central bankers have waged war against inflation over the past few years, wielding their primary weapon: higher interest rates. Now, countries around the world are witnessing the tangible results of these efforts, as inflation has dropped significantly.”
The Central Banker Report Cards acknowledge central bank governors whose strategies have excelled through creativity, originality, and resilience.
Before his appointment as BSP governor, Remolona served on the Monetary Board, the BSP’s policy-making arm, for one year, beginning in August 2022. Remolona, who holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University, has extensive international experience in central banking, having worked for 14 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 19 years at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland and Hong Kong.
He was also a finance professor and director of central banking at the Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. He taught at Williams College, Columbia University, New York University, and the University of the Philippines.