Central Bank Governor of the Year, Africa

Abraao Gourgel, Angola

Abraao Gourgel was parachuted into the job of governor of Angola's central bank in April 2009 at a difficult time. The country's currency, the kwanza, had suffered a sharp devaluation on account of plummeting oil prices and the global economic downturn, which was having an adverse impact on foreign direct investment.

During the course of 2009, Mr Gourgel dealt successfully with falling international reserves, rising inflation and an exchange rate that was threatened with instability. He also proved himself unafraid to take bold measures in order to strengthen the country's banking system.

Much to the chagrin of many of the country's nascent banking class, in mid-2009, the central bank doubled the capital reserve requirement of banks to 30% and imposed strict limits on the amount of dollars it sold at daily auctions. The Association of Angolan Banks complained that these actions cut liquidity to the sector at a dangerous time for the economy, and restricted businesses that relied on using the dollar to pay for goods and services from overseas.

However, Mr Gourgel defended his actions, saying the measures were aimed at controlling inflation and stopping the kwanza from devaluing yet further against the dollar. At that time, the currency had already lost 4% of its value against the dollar over the year, and up to 20% of its value on the parallel foreign exchange market.

The central bank has since eased its limits on the sale of dollars by holding two weekly auctions, but Mr Gourgel's actions in averting a currency crisis were both sensible and bold. He told a local news agency in July that he was confident that the bank sector in Angola was in good shape. "Under current conditions and taking into account the big impact of the economic crisis on oil prices and on our fiscal revenues, the performance of the banking system has been exemplary," Mr Gourgel said.

Mr Gourgel is a deserved winner of Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa due to his sound policies in averting the very worst affects of the plummeting oil price on an economy so dependent on oil for its survival. A recent up-tick in the price of oil has put the economy on a more even keel and there is even talk of an international bond issuance in the not too distant future. Mr Gourgel has also been instrumental in improving Angola's relations with the International Monetary Fund, which had previously been on hold due to the country's reluctance to discuss its economic policy agenda.

cp/68/GET-Glann Stevens.jpg

Glenn Stevens, Reserve Bank of Australia

Central Bank Governor of the Year, Asia-Pacific

Glenn Stevens, Reserve Bank of Australia

Glenn Stevens, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), began his 29-year career at Australia's central bank as a research assistant. With a wealth of experience under his belt, Mr Stevens went on to become governor in 2006 - a role that has since proved the career central banker to be a far-sighted and astute policy-maker.

Although Australia did not escape the global economic slump entirely unscathed, its impact on the country has been greatly softened by Australia's strong commodity exports, flexible exchange rate, healthy banking sector and a timely and robust macro policy response. Although gross domestic product growth fell to 0.7% during 2009, Australia narrowly averted a technical recession, with GDP growth due to rebound to 2% for 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In addition to the government's robust stimulus package, the RBA's swift move to successfully slash interest rates by 4.25% from September 2008 played a key role in defending the Asia-Pacific economy from the global downturn. Not only did the RBA avert deflation but, even more notably, it was the first developed economy globally that was able to raise interest rates, by two successive 0.5% instalments in October 2009 and November 2009, in what is widely regarded as a resounding endorsement of the country's responsible monetary policy and strong economic fundamentals.

As banks globally buckled under the sub-prime mountain, meanwhile, Australia's banking sector has proved well-regulated by comparison: in addition to its prompt move to slash interest rates, the RBA's measures to provide liquidity, as well as the introduction of guarantees on deposits and wholesale funding, enabled the financial system to continue to provide credit. Consequently, leading Australian universal banks remain some of the most robust and highest-rated institutions in the world, an enviable position that will support the country's recovery and growth in future years.

Central Bank Governor of the Year, Europe

Giorgi Kadagidze, National Bank of Georgia

When Giorgi Kadagidze took over as president of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) in February 2009, the central bank faced unparalleled difficulties. The country's economy was still reeling from conflict with Russia in July 2008 when the global credit crisis reached its peak two months later. This threatened not only the financing of Georgia's banking sector, but indeed the financing of the whole country, as its fixed exchange rate came under increasing pressure.

The NBG responded with a 15% devaluation of Georgia's lari currency in November 2008. But this had not ended speculation on the exchange rate, or the pressure on gross foreign exchange reserves, which had fallen a further 13% by February 2009, to $1.27bn.

Mr Kadagidze's response was more radical, introducing twice-weekly official currency auctions in March 2009 to inject dollar liquidity back into the banking sector and to enable a closely managed float of the exchange rate. The NBG continued to fine-tune its policy in May 2009, calculating average daily market exchange rates from bank trading desks and displaying these on its website, to introduce greater transparency into the currency market.

An International Monetary Fund mission to Georgia in October 2009 praised the "successful transition from the daily fixing session to foreign exchange auctions. This should set the stage for more exchange rate flexibility in response to market conditions." And the numbers speak for themselves - by November 2009, gross foreign exchange reserves had recovered to more than $2bn.

Meanwhile, the central bank has retained a 'business as usual' approach to stability in the banking sector, for which it is responsible through the internal Financial Supervision Agency. Despite the heavy economic pressures on Georgia and the lack of international capital market funding, there have been no bank failures in 2009. Surveillance has been steadily intensified, including introducing new measurements of mortgage market activity.

Mr Kadagidze previously headed the Financial Supervision Agency himself, and the Georgian government showed its faith in his handling by giving the central bank increased powers to regulate the insurance industry in a bill passed in September 2009. Not a bad year's work for a man who will celebrate his 30th birthday in April 2010.

cp/68/Salah Toukan, Umayya.jpg

Umayya Salah Toukan, Central Bank of Jordan

Central Bank Governor of the Year, Middle East

Umayya Salah Toukan, Central Bank of Jordan

Jordan, unlike many countries in the Middle East, has maintained a very conservative banking sector for many years under the leadership of the governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), Umayya Salah Toukan. Severe prudential requirements and strict regulation have drawn complaints from bankers in the past, but the governor's adherence to conservative policies has proven wise, serving Jordan well during the global financial crisis of the past 18 months.

Despite its relatively small economy and dependence on foreign investment, especially from the oil-rich Gulf states, Jordan has been able to maintain stability and growth in the overall economy and the banking sector. While growth slipped, according to the International Monetary Fund, from about 8% in both 2007 and 2008 to 3% in 2009, it remains in positive territory, unlike the Gulf states, and is expected to increase to 4% in 2010 based on favourable demographics coupled with positive economic policies and growth in household income. Jordan has also seen inflation drop from 14.9% in 2008 to 0.2% in 2009.

Despite the shocks of 2008, the aggregate profitability of the 13 listed commercial banks rose in 2008 and achieved a solid return on average equity of 11%. The past 12 months have seen profits fall but returns are still at 8.5% for the first nine months of 2009, with no bank failures or signs of excessive leverage. The banking sector's resilience is attributed to the prudence of the central bank and the heavy regulations in place.

Addressing the global crisis, the CBJ took pre-emptive action to maintain confidence and support the economy, providing significant liquidity injections, slashing reserve requirements and providing a blanket guarantee for all deposits through 2010. With all banks viewed as generally very well capitalised, surpassing the 12% minimum required capital adequacy, the CBJ has managed to engender stability and growth in difficult times. The governor's efforts were also recognised in November 2009 by an award from the Union of Arab Banks for his long-standing monetary and diplomatic achievements.

PLEASE ENTER YOUR DETAILS TO WATCH THIS VIDEO

All fields are mandatory

The Banker is a service from the Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd takes your privacy seriously.

Choose how you want us to contact you.

Invites and Offers from The Banker

Receive exclusive personalised event invitations, carefully curated offers and promotions from The Banker



For more information about how we use your data, please refer to our privacy and cookie policies.

Terms and conditions

Join our community

The Banker on Twitter