M R Pridiyathorn Devakula: Upon acceptance of the award for Central Banker
of the Year - Asia 2006
Statement by Mr M R Pridiyathorn Devakula, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the Banker
Magazine Luncheon Seminar, Bangkok, 1 February 2006.
* * *
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Back in June 2001, when I landed at the job of Governor of the Bank of Thailand, I was fairly confident
that I would be able to do well in the area of bank supervision, given the considerable exposure I've
had as a commercial banker. I also had some ideas on how to move forward the resolution of NPL and
return banks to profitability.
But I was a banker and not an economist by profession. My expertise in business administration made
me a bit uneasy on matters concerning monetary policy, as I felt that I did not have enough
macroeconomic background to master the monetary policy issues. However, I was really fortunate to
have a highly competent Monetary Policy Committee as well as BOT staff to support me in this area.
Indeed the depth of knowledge and the quality of analysis provided by BOT staff are materials which I
can always rely on. All I have to do during the past 41⁄2 years is to pay close attention to their
presentation, data analysis and proposals. The analysis of BOT staff is intellectually rigorous yet very
clear in their message, enabling me to fully grasp the issues, and the Monetary Policy Committee to
make appropriate decisions.
However, in a country where the functioning of financial market mechanism is not fully efficient, there
is an important role for public communication to help enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy.
Public understanding of monetary policy would lead to desirable change of market behaviour and
adjustment process. Effective communication would also enable financial market participants to
anticipate the direction of monetary policy, thereby enhancing the transmission mechanism of
monetary policy.
It is in this area that I feel I could contribute. Series of efforts have been made to improve Bank of
Thailand's public communication and I believe nowadays the public is more receptive to monetary
policy, while financial market participants could correctly anticipate the direction of monetary policy
and adjust their behaviour accordingly.
Because this award is based on the work in the monetary policy area, I therefore humbly accept this
award-not only for myself, but also on behalf of the Monetary Policy Committee as well as the staff of
the Bank of Thailand.
And as Mr. Caplen mentioned earlier on, the Thai banking sector also deserves congratulatory note for
delivering economic growth in Thailand. The Bank of Thailand would therefore like to thank the
banking community for its steadfast adherence to the reform efforts, for its cooperation in
strengthening our financial sector and for its support to the recovery of the Thai economy. Even
though I was a commercial banker for over 20 years of my career and fully share and understand the
challenges facing this profession, I would not be able to witness the recovery and resilience of our
banking system today if not for your remarkable efforts and hard work.
Let me conclude by thanking the management of the "Banker" magazine for honoring me with this
award and all of my colleagues at the BOT for their untiring support. The award is a great
encouragement for me to continue dedicating myself to the cause of my work.
Finally, let me leave you with a quote that has always been close to my heart. These were the words
of one of my mentor, Dr. Puey Ungphakorn, one of the finest Governors we've ever had, who once
said that: "If one is not concern about holding on to one's position, then one can always make the right
decisions." So you can rest assured that I will continue to do what is right and in the best interest of
our country.