Taipei: The annual salary of Yang Chin-long, governor of Taiwan's central bank, remains at the lower end of global central bankers' pay rankings, according to the central bank. On its Facebook page, the central bank cited recent statistics compiled by Central Banking Publications, stating that Yang's salary of NT$3 million, or about US$99,000 a year, is well below the global average of US$228,900 and at the lower end of the global range.

According to Focus Taiwan, Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), took the top spot in the rankings with almost HK$10 million, or US$1.3 million, in annual compensation. This amount comprises HK$7.4 million in fixed salary and up to NT$2.3 million in the form of a floating wage based on performance.

Thomas Jordan, who stepped down as chairman of the Swiss National Bank on September 9, 2024, came in second after receiving 997,200 Swiss francs, or nearly US$1.2 million, in annual wage, the statistics showed. Among other highly paid central bankers, Michele Bullock, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), was paid about US$692,000 a year; Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, received US$658,000 in annual wage; and Eli Remolona, governor of the Philippine central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, was paid about US$639,000 a year, the central bank said.

The annual wage of Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, stood at US$226,300, about one-third of the amount received by his Australian counterpart, leaving him far behind other central bankers, the central bank said. Additionally, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, secured about US$479,000 annually, while Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, was paid US$249,000 a year, the central bank added.