Stanley Fischer
Stanley FischerFlash 90

The British magazine EuroMoney has designated Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer as the number-one national bank governor in the world. “This is a great honor for myself, my colleagues in the Bank of Israel, and the Finance Ministers with whom I have worked, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu,” Fischer said at the prize-awarding ceremony in Washington on Sunday.

Just last week, Fischer received a perfect score as bank governor in a rating by the economic magazine Global Finance – for the second year in a row. Only six others received such a score this year.


In between, Fischer was awarded yet another prize: Regional Banker of the Year in the Middle East and North Africa.


EuroMoney noted specifically that Fischer was the first bank head to raise interest rates, back in September ’09, and to purchase massive amounts of foreign currency – mainly dollars – in order to buttress the American currency.


Netanyahu, a former Finance Minister, congratulated Fischer on his award and said, “I have made several difficult decisions that have influenced the economy, but clearly the decision to ask you to be Bank of Israel Governor was one of the easiest. To my delight, you agreed, and your contribution has been a great and important one.”