Singapore: Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has been named the best central bank governor in Asia-Pacific for 2018 by UK-based magazine The Banker.
The finance publication said that under Menon’s leadership, the MAS pursued a “cutting-edge regulatory approach to fintech while maintaining macroeconomic stability”.
The annual award by The Banker, is based on a selection process involving a survey of bankers and economists, the Strait times reported, citing the magazine as saying.
“You can only encourage technology to the extent that you can also contain and manage its risks. A smart financial centre must be a safe financial centre as well,” Menon said in an interview to the magazine.
The Menon-led MAS banned high-profile bankers including Tim Leissner, formerly Goldman Sachs’ man in southeast Asia, as well as Swiss banker Jens Sturzenegger, who was the branch manager of Falcon Private Bank when it was shut down over 1MDB dealings last year, reports said.
More recently, Menon and MAS sought to cool demand in Asia for cryptocurrencies, warning that investors should weigh up the significant risks before pouring money in.
Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat was also given this award in 2011 when he was then MAS’ Managing Director. Over the last three years, the award went to the central bankers of Vietnam, India and Bangladesh.
The magazine said that the MAS was among the first regulators to set up a dedicated fintech group that focuses on understanding technology’s risks and benefits.
