Newspaper Article

Central bankers face harsh glare of scandal

Fackler, Martin

2006

Overview

Calls for his resignation have been rising; an opinion poll published Tuesday by the daily Asahi Shimbun showed that 67 percent of Japanese said they thought [Fukui] should step down. The scandal comes as another major central bank, the Bank of Italy, is still trying to regroup after its longtime head, Antonio Fazio, resigned in December for allegedly accepting gifts worth $60,000 from the chief of a bank he was responsible for regulating. While the criticisms of Fukui are not nearly as serious, both scandals have called into question the fairness and openness of the two central banks. They have also underscored how precious credibility is for a central bank, and how hard it can be to restore once damaged. \"Central banks must be seen as having no bias,\" said Atsushi Nakajima, chief economist at the research arm of the Tokyo-based Mizuho Financial Group. \"Credibility and trust are essential for what they do, even more so than other institutions.\" Fukui has faced growing criticism since he told a parliamentary committee about his 1999 investment.

• Publisher: New York Times Company
• Subject: Fazio, Antonio