BSP Governor Remolona Earns 'A-' Grade for Third Straight Year

MANILA, Philippines — Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. earned another “A-” grade in Global Finance magazine’s annual central banker report card, which assessed how monetary authorities navigated the difficult task of taming inflation and preserving economic growth. It was the third consecutive year that Remolona received one of the report’s highest grades. READ: BSP chief Remolona keeps slot on Global Finance honor roll Global Finance, which has published the report annually since 1994, grades central bank governors on a scale from “A+” to “F” based on their performance in areas including inflation control, economic growth, currency stability, interest rate management and political independence. An “A” signifies excellent performance, while an “F” denotes outright failure. Remolona was among the 15 central bank governors who received an “A-.” Eight earned an “A,” while only two received the top “A+” grade: Christian Kettel Thomsen of Denmark and Julio Velarde Flores of Peru. “Central bank governors face a complex balancing act, navigating persistent inflation pressures, uncertain growth and rapidly changing economic conditions, while maintaining the confidence of markets and the public,” said Global Finance founder and editorial director Joseph Giarraputo. “Global Finance’s A Grade Central Bank Governors are leaders who have demonstrated the discipline, independence and sound judgment needed to deliver stability while guiding their economies through an always unpredictable global environment,” Giarraputo added. Under Remolona’s leadership as chair of the Monetary Board, the BSP embarked on a new tightening cycle in April to combat high inflation amid the Middle East conflict. Since then, the central bank has delivered three quarter-point rate hikes that brought the policy rate to 5 percent. READ: BIZ BUZZ: A vote of confidence for Remolona On the growth side, the BSP last month said local economic fundamentals “appear to be intact over the medium term”, adding that a recovery in government spending could help stimulate activity in the second half of the year. Remolona has said the BSP is prepared to “tighten as much as we need to bring the inflation rate down to its target.” Policymakers now expect inflation to average 6.1 percent this year—down from the prior estimate of 6.4 percent but still above the BSP’s 3-percent target. However, the 2027 outlook was sharply raised to 5.4 percent from 4.5 percent. INQ