Finance Minister of the Year 2025 #ItalyFinance

Global and Europe

Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italy

Giancarlo Giorgetti is The Banker’s Finance Minister of the Year, having won respect for his attempts to reduce Italy’s growing deficit and sustain public investment, with a longer-term plan to bring down the country’s towering debt-to-GDP ratio.

Being Italy’s finance minister is a thankless task. The economic problems afflicting the country are manifold: slow growth, low productivity, high tax evasion and one of the largest public debt burdens in the world.

Such challenges explain why many Italian governments have resorted to appointing mostly technocratic finance ministers over the past two decades. 

Giancarlo Giorgetti, finance minister, Italy © Bloomberg

Giorgetti, appointed in 2022, is a notable exception. He is a veteran political operator, viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of the League party, which forms part of Italy’s right-wing governing coalition. 

While not the first choice of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Giorgetti quickly emerged as a pragmatic voice in a government that critics complain is often all too fond of populist rhetoric and policy. His renowned networking skills have come to the fore in his role as finance minister, drawing on his extensive political career.

Before becoming finance minister, he spent almost three decades as a member of parliament, mostly negotiating behind the scenes on the behalf of others, including the firebrand League leader Matteo Salvini. Notably, he served as lower house budget committee head between 2001 and 2013. This has greatly helped him in negotiating with parliaments’ political groups and Italy’s annual budget law.

Last year saw Giorgetti set ambitious targets to plug Italy’s growing deficit and sustain public investment and then begin to reduce the country’s massive debt from 2027. He plans to increase taxation on companies that operate in sectors which are benefiting from favourable business conditions — a 2023 proposal for an extra tax on banks had to be diluted after it caused a stockmarket sell-off.

“We will be approving a budget that will require sacrifices from everyone,” Giorgetti said in an interview with Bloomberg in October, with the budget due to be finalised as The Banker went to press.

Much of the improvement in the fiscal balance is likely to come from additional tax revenues. However, Giorgetti has also introduced belt-tightening measures, by asking the different ministries to make total savings of €4bn.

He is also overseeing the privatisation of bailed-out lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena and of national airline Ita Airways. State-controlled oil major Eni has already completed the sale of a minority stake of its biofuels business to private equity investor KKR for just under €3bn.

The European Commission has praised his work, deeming Italy’s 2025 budget law in line with its recommendations and rules, while describing the country’s debt repayment plan as “credible” and “sustainable”.

The EU’s green light for Italy was a significant win for Giorgetti and the Italian government, considering that few countries complied with the bloc’s commitments and rules. Indeed, the commission rebuked a number of countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, for spending too much.

In October, rating agency Fitch raised Italy’s outlook from stable to positive.

The change “reflects that recent stronger fiscal performance and commitment to EU fiscal rules point to a potential reduction in medium-term fiscal and financing risks stemming from Italy’s exceptionally high debt levels,” Fitch said. 

Revenue collection this year was better than expected, and allowed the government to target the 2024 deficit at 3.8 per cent of GDP, below April’s estimate of 4.3 per cent. Italy was placed under an “excessive deficit procedure” by the EU, after its 2023 deficit reached 7.2 per cent of GDP.

The country’s deficit is now forecast to fall below the EU’s 3 per cent ceiling in 2026. National debt is projected to increase to 137.8 per cent of GDP in 2026, from 135.8 per cent in 2024, before marginally declining in 2027.

However, Italy has reduced its debt by nearly 20 percentage points of GDP from its peak in 2020. It is among the few eurozone countries to have returned its debt ratio to pre-pandemic levels.

In December, Giorgetti warned that the country’s industrial sector risks a slump, blaming the impact of the poor performance of Germany’s economy, in particular, on Italy’s wealthy and more industrialised north. This will weigh on 2024’s Italian GDP growth, which the government in November revised down to 0.7 per cent, from 1 per cent previously.

Yet, Giorgetti has reassured markets and the EU. As reported by Reuters, at a political event in mid-December he said that the slower growth “doesn’t change our public finance targets”.

Africa

Romuald Wadagni, Benin

Benin is one of just four countries in sub-Saharan Africa to have registered annual real GDP growth of 6 per cent for three consecutive years between 2021 and 2023, alongside Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Rwanda. 

Building on its status as Africa’s largest cotton producer, the government has in recent years invested significantly in infrastructure, and introduced reforms to boost private sector investment, centred around the Glo-Djigbé industrial park, aimed at developing the country’s clothing and food processing industries. 

Romauld Wadagni, Benin © Getty Images

“The Beninese economy has proven remarkably resilient to shocks, leveraging buffers wisely created pre-pandemic and supported by the government’s continued reform efforts,” the IMF said in December. 

“Growth is expected to remain strong in the coming years, supported by the government infrastructure drive and by private investment, including through the [Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone],” the fund predicted, while noting that the country remains vulnerable to climate shocks and regional headwinds. 

Romauld Wadagni, formerly a partner with Deloitte, was appointed as Benin’s minister of finance and economy in 2016, with President Patrice Talon extending his term in 2021. A candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank in May 2025, Wadagni is the winner of this year’s Finance Minister of the Year award for Africa in recognition of his ongoing stewardship of the economy and the support provided to President Talon’s attempts to attract private investment. 

After a series of successful Eurobond issuances, Benin launched its first dollar bond in February, days after its west African neighbour Ivory Coast became the first sub-Saharan African sovereign in nearly two years to launch a greenback-denominated debt issuance. On the back of its neighbour’s success, Benin raised $750bn in an offering that was oversubscribed more than six times.

In April, Benin became the first sub-Saharan African country to join the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, following the country’s formal request submitted in July 2023, with the country hoping to benefit from the bank’s finance and policy support.
 

Americas

Carlos Fernández Valdovinos, Paraguay

Carlos Fernández Valdovinos has been Paraguay’s minister of economy and finance since August 2023. During his tenure the country’s credit score was upgraded to investment grade by Moody’s Ratings in July 2024, reflecting “sustained economic growth and a track-record of institutional reforms”. 

Overall, the country’s economic development has been encouraging for more than two decades. From 2003 to 2023, its GDP grew 3.6 per cent annually on average, faster than many other countries in the Americas, contributing to poverty reduction, according to the World Bank. 

Paraguay has “pursued a strategy of economic diversification and public investment in infrastructure, while preserving Paraguay’s fiscal strength”, said Moody’s in July. The rating agency also praised the country’s investment in infrastructure and economic diversification, even as agriculture and hydropower generation remain central to the economy. 

Carlos Fernández Valdovinos, Paraguay

The government has been working to develop the local currency bond market, in an attempt to lessen its reliance on bonds issued in US dollars. In February 2024, Paraguay successfully issued its first guarani-denominated bond on the international market. Local currency debt increased as a percentage of total public debt to 16 per cent in April 2024 from 11 per cent in July 2023. 

In 2023, the National Securities Commission was replaced by the Superintendence of Securities, tasked with supervising and regulating the stock market in a more robust and autonomous manner. 

Some critics might note that alongside the achievements of the past years, the Paraguayan economy continues to face challenges due to corruption, with the IMF urging the country to improve its anti-corruption framework. 

Valdovinos served as Paraguay’s central bank governor between 2013 and 2018 under former President Horacio Cartes, who was sanctioned in 2023 by the US for alleged corruption.  

More recently in October, Paraguay’s congress approved a law that would require all non-profit organisations that receive public or private money to submit financial reports to the ministry of economy and finance every six months, something that critics say could be used to target opponents of the ruling party. 

But as Paraguay grows and strengthens its economic prospects and international standing, the positive impact of the finance ministry’s work deserves recognition.

Asia-Pacific

Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan 

When Muhammad Aurangzeb was given the title of Pakistan’s finance minister in March 2024, questions were asked about whether a veteran banker with no previous political experience would be equal to the job. 

However, his 25 years’ experience in international banking has given him crucial insight and experience for the task of lessening the worst pressures on Pakistan’s economy. 

Coming into the role, Pakistan held $130bn in external debt, representing almost a third of the country’s total GDP, with inflation standing at more than 20 per cent. In the months since, Aurangzeb has taken definitive steps to boost the country’s economy and improve its economic prospects. 

Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan © Getty Images

Inflation has fallen dramatically, to 4.9 per cent in November 2024, the lowest level for more than six years. 

Interest rates were cut in December 2024 by 200 basis points to 13 per cent, the lowest level since April 2022. 

A significant goal following his appointment was to ensure the country was meeting the targets set out by the IMF for receiving additional loan support. He was successful in this endeavour, with the country receiving a three-year loan facility valued at $7bn. The funds will be used for improving economic stability, attracting foreign direct investment and increasing foreign currency reserves. 

In order to satisfy the IMF, Aurangzab promised to take a hard stance on taxes, with plans outlined in the June budget to raise Rs13tn ($46.6bn) by July 2025, representing a 40 per cent increase in revenues in the current financial year. It was also announced in the budget that measures would be taken against income tax avoiders, with restrictions on mobile phone access and the ability to travel abroad. 

To strengthen the economy, Aurangzab has set out to encourage international trade links. 

He has sought to increase trading ties with neighbouring Azerbaijan, in fields including tourism and oil and gas. Japan, Qatar and the US have also been identified as possible targets for increased trade flows. 

Plans to align the banking system with Islamic finance principles have also been outlined, with the intention to issue sukuk and other investment instruments to finance infrastructure projects and poverty alleviation in
the country. 

Aurangzeb has expressed his commitment to creating a strong, sharia-compliant capital market in the country, and wants Pakistan to become a leading player in Islamic finance.
 

Middle East

Maktoum bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, UAE

The Middle East’s third-largest oil exporter behind Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the UAE is also one of the region’s largest and most diversified economies. GDP growth for 2024 is expected to come in at 4 per cent according to the IMF, compared with just 2.8 per cent for the wider Middle East and Central Asia region, boosted by robust domestic demand. 

“The UAE has continued to experience strong capital inflows, reflecting commodity revenue, safe haven flows, and investment drawn by social and business-friendly reforms,” the fund said in December. 

The country also scored a notable success in February 2024 with its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list”, following major efforts under its strategy to combat monetary laundering and the financing of terrorism, and related action plan.

Maktoum bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, UAE

Dubai’s deputy ruler Maktoum bin Mohammed Al Maktoum has served as the UAE’s minister of finance since 2021, assuming the position of deputy prime minister for financial and economic affairs in January 2024. He is the recipient of The Banker’s Finance Minister of the Year award for the Middle East in recognition of the bold choices made to continue to deepen and diversify the country’s economy, not least in the often-contentious area of taxation. 

Corporate tax came into effect in the UAE (excluding free zones) for businesses from June 2023, with taxable business income above Dh375,000 ($102,110) incurring a 9 per cent statutory tax rate, one of the lowest among the Gulf Co-operation Council countries. 

January 2025 will see that tax increase to 15 per cent for large multinational enterprises with consolidated global revenues of €750mn or more, in line with international standards. 

The ministry of finance in December said the move to the 15 per cent rate for multinational enterprises “reflects the UAE’s commitment to implementing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s two-pillar solution, aimed at establishing a fair and transparent tax system aligned with global standards”.

Among the other initiatives launched by the ministry during the year include a project to further develop the UAE’s local debt capital market. A collaboration with the Central Bank of the UAE, the initiative will establish programmes for issuing local dirham-denominated public debt instruments, with a view to building and enhancing the yield curve.