Global Finance magazine has given Nguyen Thi Hong, Vietnam’s first female central bank governor, an A+ on its 2023 Central Banker Report Cards.
Hong, 55, is one of only three central bank governors in the world that was rated A+ by the U.S.-based magazine.
The other two were the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Thomas J Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank.
Hong became Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), appointed by the legislative National Assembly, in November 2020.
She holds a master’s degree in Developmental Economics and started working at SBV in 1991, where she held several management positions.
The Central Banker Report Cards, published annually by Global Finance since 1994, grade the central bank governors of 101 key countries, territories, and districts, including the European Union, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Bank of Central African States, and the Central Bank of West African States.
Grades are based on a scale from A to F for success in inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability and interest rate management, with an “A” representing an excellent performance down through an “F” for outright failure.
The full Central Banker Report Cards 2023 report and grade list will appear in Global Finance’s October issue print editions, as well as online at GFMag.com.
“Fighting inflation, which has been fueled by pent-up demand and disrupted supply chains, has everyone turning to their central bankers for help,” said Global Finance founder and editorial director Joseph Giarraputo.
Governors that earned an A grade included Brazil’s Roberto Campos Neto, Israel’s Amir Yaron, Harvesh Kumar Seegolam of Mauritius, New Zealand’s Adrian Orr, Paraguay’s Jose Cantero Sienra, Julio Velarde of Peru, Chin-Long Yang of Taiwan, and Uruguay’s Diego Labat.