The Banker, a publication of the Financial Times group, has chosen Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. as Central Banker of the Year for Asia-Pacific.

The Banker said that its Central Bank Governor of the Year Awards recognize officials who have successfully steered their countries through the economic turbulence of 2012.

The publication said that Erdem Basci, governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey representing Europe, was chosen as Global Central Bank Governor of the Year.

Other awardees are Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney for the Americas; Banco Nacional de Angola Governor José Massano for Africa; and Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Governor Fahad Al-Mubarak for the Middle East.

The Banker said that, “the Philippine economy has performed strongly in the past year, and its growth in the third quarter of 2012 was the second highest in Asia after China. Ratings upgrades in the past year have put the Philippines just one notch away from investment grade—the level of Indonesia—which the country now has its sights on. The sound monetary policy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and its governor, Amando Tetangco, have contributed to these improvements that have recently pushed the Philippines into the spotlight.”

This is the third time that Tetangco was ranked among the world’s best central bank chiefs during the last five months. Global Finance Magazine recently awarded Tetangco an “A” rating as central bank chief along with five other governors.

Global Finance said that the Philippine central bank took advantage of receding inflation to cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low to stimulate growth, as the global economy weakens.

In October, the international financial magazine Emerging Markets of the Euromoney group also named Tetangco as 2012 Emerging Markets Central Bank Governor of the Year for Asia. It said that the BSP under Tetangco’s stewardship “has managed monetary policy with considerable skill, not least given the twin threats of China slowdown and spill-over from the eurozone crisis.”