Egypt's central bank governor Tarek Amer received Saturday the GlobalMarkets award as the Central Bank Governor of the year for Middle East and North Africa, on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington D.C GlobalMarkets, the newspaper of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Annual Meeting, announced earlier in August selecting the Egyptian banker for the governor of the year award. The newspaper explained that Amer was the ‘leading architect' of Egypt's $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan programme and the "driving force behind the country's exchange rate reform." In August 2016, Egypt agreed to a three-year, $12 billion IMF loan programme tied to ambitious economic reforms that included austerity measures such as subsidy cuts and tax hikes. In November 2016, Egypt received IMF's first funding installment – an initial disbursal of $2.75 billion – following the floating of the Egyptian pound. "You (Amer) have played a pivotal role in putting the economy on a sustainable path and restoring the confidence of international investors," Toby Fildes, Managing Editor of GlobalMarkets newspaper, further said in a formal letter sent to the Egyptian central bank governor. Amer was committed to "orthodox monetary policy, timely market communication and prudent macroprudential regulation." Fildes added.
