Federico Sturzenegger

Federico Sturzenegger
Born	(1966-02-11) February 11, 1966 Rufino, Santa Fe, Argentina
Occupation(s)	Economist, academic, politician
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Presidency of the Central Bank of Argentina (2015–2018), Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation (2024–present)

Federico Sturzenegger (born 11 February 1966) is an Argentine economist currently leading the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation under President Javier Milei. He previously held the position of President of the Central Bank from 2015 until 2018.

Throughout his career, Sturzenegger has occupied academic roles at institutions such as University of California, Los Angeles, Torcuato di Tella University—where he also served as Dean of the Business School—and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Presently, he lectures at University of San Andres and holds an honorary professorship at HEC Paris. His scholarly output includes close to fifty peer-reviewed articles and eight authored books.

Beyond academia, Sturzenegger has been Chief Economist at YPF, President of the Bank of the City of Buenos Aires, and a National Congressman representing the PRO party.

Early life and education

Born on 11 February 1966 in Rufino, Santa Fe, Sturzenegger is the son of Adolfo Sturzenegger, an economist and academic. His mother worked as both a lawyer and a public school educator in City Bell. His paternal lineage traces back to Swiss Argentine roots from Appenzell, Switzerland. He has three siblings: an older sister, a younger sister, and a brother.

During his father’s pursuit of a PhD at Harvard University, the family resided in Boston, Massachusetts. Upon their return to Argentina, Federico was raised in Gonnet near La Plata, where he attended public schools.

He completed his secondary education at Collegio Nacional de La Plata and graduated with a degree in Economics from the National University of La Plata in 1987. He later earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991.

Academics

Between 1991 and 1994, Sturzenegger served as an assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1998, after leaving YPF, he assumed the role of Dean at the Business School of Torcuato di Tella University, holding this position until 2001 and returning again from 2002 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007, he was appointed visiting professor specializing in public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. In recognition of his contributions, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005 and awarded the Konex Prize in 2006.

Dark matter

The term dark matter was introduced by Sturzenegger alongside Ricardo Hausmann to describe intangible assets that clarify inconsistencies between official U.S. current account figures and actual returns on its net financial assets. While the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a $2.5 trillion current account deficit in 2004, positive net income flows suggested this deficit was exaggerated.

According to Sturzenegger and Hausmann, certain unmeasured exports—such as proprietary business expertise bundled with foreign direct investment, insurance services, and liquidity provision—are excluded from official trade data. This "dark matter" effectively raises the true value of U.S. foreign assets, diminishing the apparent size of its current account deficit and indicating a stronger financial standing than typically perceived. This framework also impacts other nations’ accounts by revealing how they accumulate liabilities through importing embedded know-how within U.S. investments.

De Facto Exchange Rate Regimes

In their study titled "Classifying Exchange Rate Regimes: Deeds vs. Words," Eduardo Levy Yeyati and Federico Sturzenegger introduced a widely recognized system for categorizing exchange rate regimes based on actual policy implementation rather than official declarations. They highlighted that numerous empirical analyses depend on the IMF's de jure classifications, which frequently fail to capture the genuine behavior of exchange rates. For instance, countries that officially claim flexible exchange rates often engage in substantial market interventions, effectively mimicking fixed regimes. Conversely, nations with inflation challenges may intermittently devalue their pegs, functioning more like flexible regimes despite their formal classification. Moreover, during times of market turmoil, countries might deviate from their announced policies, thereby modifying the effective exchange rate regime.

To resolve these inconsistencies, the authors proposed a de facto regime classification that reflects actual policy conduct. Their methodology relies on three principal indicators: movements in the nominal exchange rate, the volatility of these movements, and fluctuations in international reserves. Fixed regimes are characterized by reserve adjustments aimed at stabilizing nominal exchange rates, whereas flexible regimes demonstrate significant exchange rate volatility alongside relatively stable reserves. This framework provides a practical tool for identifying exchange rate regimes through observable economic variables, offering critical insights for investors and policymakers evaluating currency risk and monetary policy dynamics.

Private sector

He returned to Argentina in 1995 when José Estenssoro appointed him as Chief Economist at Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales.

Secretary of Political Economy of Argentina

In March 2001, during President Fernando de la Rúa’s administration, he held the position of Secretary of Political Economy within the Ministry of Economy under Ricardo López Murphy. Shortly thereafter, López Murphy was succeeded by Domingo Cavallo, and he resigned before the end of 2001.

Management of Banco Ciudad

In February 2008, Sturzenegger assumed the presidency of the Bank of the City of Buenos Aires, a municipally owned commercial bank. Prior to his leadership, the institution was operating at a loss exceeding 80 million Argentine pesos by late 2007. After six years under his guidance, by 2013 the bank achieved record profits surpassing 1300 million Argentine pesos, becoming the most profitable state-owned enterprise in Argentina. Between 2008 and 2012, its net worth tripled while loans to medium and small businesses increased sevenfold; lending to large companies grew sixfold; and mortgage loans expanded by a factor of four.

During Sturzenegger’s tenure, the bank distinguished itself by providing free savings accounts to all customers, establishing branches within shantytown areas, and extending credit—including mortgages—to minimum wage workers. It also innovated financing options for transportation needs, facilitating purchases such as bicycles or taxis for drivers.

His administration introduced a meritocratic recruitment process modeled after the Brazilian Development Bank, emphasizing academic achievement to ensure equal opportunity. Candidates were initially selected based on academic grades and then underwent an examination at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, with preference given to applicants from public schooling backgrounds.

By 2013, plans were underway to relocate the bank’s headquarters to a new facility designed by Norman Foster, which was intended to be Latin America’s most environmentally sustainable public building.

National Deputy (2013-2015)

In 2013, Federico Sturzenegger stepped down from his role as president of Banco Ciudad to serve in the Chamber of Deputies representing Republican Proposal.

During his tenure as a legislator, Sturzenegger introduced 11 bills and maintained high engagement, ranking 13th in session participation in 2014. He notably expanded a freight rail bill originally proposed by then Minister of Transportation Florencio Randazzo, incorporating passenger transport provisions. This amendment facilitated open access to rail infrastructure for various operators and was enacted nationwide in 2018.

Among his legislative efforts was a proposal for universal mandatory education beginning at age three. Soon after, the government enacted compulsory schooling starting at age four. Sturzenegger emphasized that early access to quality education is linked to reduced dropout rates, higher income levels, and decreased dependency on social welfare.

To enhance competition within the banking sector, he advocated undoing the effects of the Conti Law—which had shifted judicial deposits from Banco Ciudad to Banco Nación—by encouraging competitive practices among banks to attract these funds, thereby improving services and interest rates.

In December 2014, he put forward legislation for mortgage loans indexed to inflation, inspired by Chile’s Unidad de Fomento model. The goal was to reduce interest rates closer to rental prices and promote long-term financing. Later, as Central Bank Governor, he implemented this system, which sparked a surge in mortgage lending with triple-digit annual growth.

Sturzenegger also championed removing minimum airline fare regulations (later adopted by the Executive Branch in 2018), establishing transparent entry procedures for public administration positions (implemented at Banco Ciudad and the Central Bank), enforcing corporate accountability for corruption following OECD standards (a similar law passed in 2017), and ensuring social assistance recipients could maintain benefits while transitioning into formal employment (the government adopted Plan Empalme in 2017).

Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation

In late 2023, Federico Sturzenegger became a principal economic advisor to President Javier Milei focusing on deregulation initiatives.

On July 5, 2024, President Milei created the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation to advance Sturzenegger’s reform agenda and appointed him as minister. His swearing-in coincided with the official publication of his appointment on the same day.

On July 18, 2024, Sturzenegger generated debate by proposing legislation that would incorporate tipping into final restaurant bills.

Presidency at Central Bank

Between December 2015 and June 2018, Sturzenegger held the position of President of the Central Bank during Mauricio Macri’s administration.

His leadership prioritized constructing a monetary framework tailored to Argentina’s needs, enhancing the financial sector, and promoting innovations in payment systems.

Following the removal of currency controls inherited from the previous government, he implemented an inflation targeting policy combined with a floating exchange rate. This initially resulted in a substantial decline in inflation rates. By December 2017, core inflation had settled at an annualized rate near 18%, coinciding with robust economic expansion throughout 2017. Despite these positive outcomes, the government dismantled this framework in December 2017, which led to rising inflation and precipitated Sturzenegger’s subsequent resignation.

To foster financial sector development, he introduced Purchasing Value Units (UVAS)—inflation-adjusted deposits and loans—that revived long-term credit availability and contributed to the strongest credit growth witnessed in two decades by 2017, particularly within mortgage lending. He also removed bureaucratic barriers that had constrained financial sector expansion.

Regarding payment systems, he advocated for modern solutions such as PEI (Immediate Electronic Payment), mobile wallets, Debin transfers, and standardized QR codes to accelerate adoption of alternative payment methods. Furthermore, he encouraged banks to divest their stakes in Prisma (Visa’s exclusive service provider) to increase competition within credit and debit card markets.

Publications

• Advanced Macroeconomics: A Simplified Approach. Filipe Campante, Federico Sturzenegger, Andrés Velasco. London: LSE Press, 2021

External links

• Official Personal Website