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Global Perspectives with Agustín Carstens and Stephen S. Poloz

Dallas Fed

On February 18, Agustín Carstens, governor of Banco de México; Stephen S. Poloz, governor of Bank of Canada; and Robert S. Kaplan, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, met at the Dallas Fed and discussed the future of NAFTA and the challenges that low oil prices have created for North America.

About Agustín Carstens

Carstens, governor of Banco de México, was originally appointed to the position in December 2009 for a six-year term from 2010 through 2015. In December, he was reappointed governor by Mexico’s Senate for another six-year term, from 2016 through 2021.

Carstens began his professional career in 1980 at Banco de México, where he held many positions in the central bank’s international and economic research departments and the Office of the Governor.

From 1999 to 2000, he was executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He served as deputy finance minister in Mexico from 2000 to 2003. In August 2003, he was appointed deputy managing director at the IMF and was responsible for handling the organization’s relationship with more than 70 member countries.

In December 2006, President Felipe Calderón appointed him Mexico’s minister of finance. While serving in this position, Carstens also chaired the IMF and World Bank Joint Development Committee. On Dec. 9, 2009, he was proposed by President Calderón as governor of Banco de México.

Carstens has been a member of the Steering Committee of the G-20 Financial Stability Board (FSB) since early 2010. From April 2013 to March 2015, he served as chairman of the FSB Standing Committee on Assessment of Vulnerabilities (SCAV). The SCAV is responsible for monitoring and assessing vulnerabilities affecting the global financial system and proposing to the FSB actions needed to address them. Since 2013, he has been chairman of the Economic Consultative Council and the Global Economy Meeting for the Bank for International Settlements.

Carstens holds an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago. He received his BA in economics (summa cum laude) from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

About Stephen S. Poloz

Poloz was appointed governor of the Bank of Canada in June 2013. He is also chairman of the Bank of Canada board of directors and a board member of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). He chairs both the BIS audit committee and the Consultative Council for the Americas.

Poloz first joined the Bank of Canada in 1981 and occupied senior positions over a 14-year span, culminating in his appointment as research department chief in 1992. After leaving the bank in 1995, he spent four years at BCA Research, where he served as managing editor of its flagship publication, The International Bank Credit Analyst.

In 1999, Poloz joined Export Development Canada (EDC) as vice president and chief economist. In 2011, he was appointed president and CEO of EDC.

Poloz has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and at the Economic Planning Agency in Tokyo. In addition, he has taught economics at the University of Western Ontario, Concordia University and Queen’s School of Business. He is a past president of the Ottawa Economics Association.

Poloz earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree and PhD in economics from the University of Western Ontario.