Taiwan central bank governor gets 'A-' grade from Global Finance - Taipei Times

Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times

Commenting on the latest ranking in the annual report on central bankers, Yang was quoted by an aide as saying: "Thank you very much. My colleagues and I at the central bank will continue to work hard."

The magazine said its grading scale from "A" to "F" is based on "success in areas such as inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability, interest rate management, and political independence." An "A" represents excellent performance, while an "F" signifies outright failure.

The magazine added that the Central Banker Report Cards, published annually since 1994, grade the performance of central bank governors in almost 100 countries, territories, and districts as well as the European Union, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Bank of Central African States, and the Central Bank of West African States.

"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," Global Finance founder and editorial director Joseph Giarraputo said in a statement.

"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 said.

According to Global Finance, only two central bankers — from Denmark and Peru — received an "A+" grade this year.

Eight central bankers — from Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Paraguay, Singapore and South Africa — received an "A" grade from the magazine.

In addition to Yang, 14 other central bankers from Albania, Argentina, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Kuwait, Morocco, the Philippines, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates earned an "A-" grade, Global Finance said.

Yang, who has worked at Taiwan's central bank since 1989, has served as governor since February 2018.

Yang received an "A" grade in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023, an "A-" grade in 2021, a "B+" grade in 2024 and an "A-" grade in 2025 and last year.

His predecessor, Perng Fai-nan (彭懷南), has the distinction of being the only central banker in the world to have earned the top grade 14 times, receiving straight A's from 2005 to 2017.