Croatia’s Rohatinski Best European, World Banker

The magazine says that the award reflects the market’s faith in his actions last year and actions of the Croatian central bank in hard times

“The Banker” magazine, which is one of the publications of a group of the most influential European newspaper, “The Financial Times”, bestowed on the governor of the Croatian National Bank, Zeljko Rohatinski, two awards for the past year – the best governor of Europe and the best central bank governor of the world in 2008. 

“The Banker”, which has been monitoring financial trends in the world since 1926, publishes every January their selection of the best regional bang governor and “governor of the year” in the world, based on assessments from the editorial board and surveys conducted among bankers and economic analysts.

Last year, for example, the same awards were given to the head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet.

In a statement forwarded to governor Rohatinski, the magazine says that the award reflects the confidence of the market in his actions last year, as well as in the action of the Croatian National Bank in these difficult times.

The financial crisis especially evidently indicated that the measures undertaken by the Croatian National Bank since 2006 with the aim of curbing loans in Croatia, especially foreign debts, were rational. The participants of our research stressed that a number of countries heavily hit by the crisis are now undertaking the same measures, but many months after it had been done in Croatia, the magazine said.

Asked what this commendation meant for him, one of many he had been given by the domestic and international public, Zeljko Rohatinski said: “After numerous objections, this is a great commendation for the Croatian National Bank and myself personally. I hope that out policy will at least somewhat contribute to Croatia overcoming the crisis period more easily”.