Fischer on the money as top bank chief

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer was named the central bank governor of the year.

Fischer received the award from Euromoney magazine, which has been honoring the world’s best bank governors and finance ministers for more than 30 years, at a World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meeting Sunday in Washington.

Fischer was recognized for successfully leading Israel’s economy through the global economic crisis.

“Israel’s stamina in a time of financial crisis and its aftermath prove that Fischer is worthy of the respect he gets from the financial community,” according to the magazine.

Fischer, a native of Rhodesia, was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1977 to 1988, and served as vice president of development economics and chief economist at the World Bank from 1988 to 1990. He became Israel’s central bank chief in 2005.