Economist Ilan Goldfajn, 50, was named Tuesday as the new President of the Brazilian Central Bank. He will replace economist and career civil servant Alexandre Tombini. Tombini will remain on the job while Goldfajn is vetted by the Brazilian Senate. The Senate must vote to confirm Goldfajn. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles and was widely expected. Goldfajn previously served as the Central Bank’s Chief Economist (2000-2003). Currently, he is Chief Economist for Brazil’s largest private bank, Banco Itau. Goldfajn holds an economics PhD from MIT in Boston. He is known as a defender of orthodox monetary policies and has criticized Tombini in the past for soft money decisions. Brazilian inflation is currently running at over 9 percent, far above the government’s target range for 2016 of 2.5 percent to 6.5 percent.
Link to government news agency release
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