Central Banker Report Cards 2024: Challenges, Scores, and Methodological Reflections

By Jessica Huang

The 'Central Banker Report Cards 2024' by New York-based Global Finance Magazine, a comprehensive assessment of the performance of central banks worldwide, highlights the complex challenges faced by these institutions over the past year. As inflationary pressures persist and the threat of recession looms, central banks are navigating a delicate balancing act. They must combat rising prices while striving to support local job markets and protect their currencies against the actions of larger global central banks. This intricate landscape requires these institutions to respond swiftly to economic shifts and peer actions, often weighing the risks of taking an independent stance on interest rates based on their unique assessments of local economic conditions. The result is a multifaceted approach that intertwines growth and inflation objectives, demanding real-time scrutiny and strategic maneuvering.
In evaluating the performance of nearly 100 central banks, Global Finance applied the following set of criteria. These criteria encompassed inflation control, economic growth, currency stability, and adherence to each central bank’s mandate. This year’s scores reflect pure economic performance and a regional context that accounts for different economies' diverse challenges. However, one must question whether they genuinely reflect the unique circumstances and variables at play or if they risk oversimplifying intricate economic realities? Consequently, it is not uncommon to see a mix of high and low scores within the same region, highlighting the nuanced nature of central banking and the varying degrees of success among both large and small economies. This approach emphasizes contextualizing monetary policy decisions, recognizing that central banks must operate within their specific economic frameworks.
The last few months have introduced significant changes in global monetary policy, which may not have affected the scores but required updates to the accompanying commentaries. Following the first interest rate cuts in over four years by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, alongside substantial stimulus measures from the People’s Bank of China, the monetary landscape is rapidly evolving. The top-rated governors for this year—those awarded A+, A, or A-—represent a diverse mix of economies, including Denmark, India, and Switzerland. Their high ratings reflect the effectiveness of their monetary policies in terms of their specific economic conditions. This year’s report reveals the scores for all central bank governors for the first time. It provides insights into their priorities and concerns through interviews, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the global monetary policy landscape. 
Regarding the methodology, Global Finance employed a grading system to evaluate the performance of the world's leading central bankers, utilizing a scale from A to F, where A+ represents the pinnacle of achievement and F indicates failure. This evaluation is informed by insights from financial industry experts alongside the editorial team's assessments. The grades reflect the governors' performance over a specific period, from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, and require that a central bank governor has held office for at least one year to be eligible for a grade. However, note that central bankers from nations experiencing significant conflicts are excluded from this assessment because of insufficient information.
The methodology relies on a proprietary algorithm designed to maintain consistency in grading across various regions. This algorithm incorporates multiple factors, including the effectiveness of monetary policy, oversight of the financial system, management of asset-purchase and bond-sale programs, forecasting capabilities, transparency, political independence, and success in fulfilling the central bank's national mandate. While this systematic approach aims to create a uniform standard for assessment, several critical questions arise regarding its efficacy and comprehensiveness. 
For instance, how effectively does this algorithm account for the unique economic contexts and challenges different central banks face? Given that central bank mandates can vary widely from one country to another, does the grading system adequately reflect these differences, or does it risk glossing over the intricate nuances of each economic landscape? Also, the exclusion of central bankers from countries in deep conflict raises concerns about the representativeness of the results. Does this exclusion limit the overall understanding of global central banking performance, particularly in regions where geopolitical factors heavily influence monetary policy? These considerations highlight the potential limitations of the Global Finance grading methodology and suggest further transparency and refinement to ensure that the evaluations capture the nuanced dynamics of central banking worldwide.

Central Bankers Earning “A+” Grades in 2024

Country	Governor	Grade
Denmark	Christian Kettel Thomsen	A+
India	Shaktikanta Das	A+
Switzerland	Thomas Jordan	A+

Central Bankers Earning “A” Grades in 2024

Country	Governor	Grade
Brazil	Roberto Campos Neto	A
Chile	Rosanna Costa	A
Mauritius	Harvesh Kumar Seegolam	A
Morocco	Abdellatif Jouahri	A
South Africa	Lesetja Kganyago	A
Sri Lanka	Nadalal Weerasinghe	A
Vietnam	Nguyen Thi Hong	A

Central Bankers Earning “A-” Grades in 2024

Country	Governor	Grade
Cambodia	Chea Serey	A-
Canada	Tiff Macklem	A-
Costa Rica	Róger Madrigal López	A-
Dominican Republic	Héctor Valdez Albizu	A-
European Union	Christine Lagarde	A-
Guatemala	Alvaro González Ricci	A-
Indonesia	Perry Warjiyo	A-
Jamaica	Richard Byles	A-
Jordan	Adel Al-Sharkas	A-
Mongolia	Byadran Lkhagvasuren	A-
Norway	Ida Wolden Bache	A-
Peru	Julio Velarde Flores	A-
Philippines	Eli Remolona	A-
Sweden	Erik Thedéen	A-
United States of America	Jerome Hayden Powell	A-

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