Rodriguez Promoted in Hacienda Shuffle

Gerardo Rodriguez has been promoted to deputy finance minister at Mexico’s hacienda, and will be replaced as public credit director by Alejandro Diaz de Leon. Both changes were the result of Jose Antonio Meade moving to energy secretary from deputy finance minister. Meanwhile, Carlos Montano was named deputy finance minister for spending, replacing Dionisio Perez-Jacome, who was appointed as communications and transport minister. “I think both [the Rodriguez and Diaz] choices will be well-received by the markets,” says Benito Berber, strategist at Nomura. He adds that both are considered knowledgeable and have an excellent rapport with investors. In his previous position with the central bank, Berber explains, Diaz de Leon used to meet with investors, and understands the market. Diaz de Leon had been an executive with the PensionISSSTE pension fund. He previously also held various economic and financial analysis positions at Mexico’s central bank. Rodriguez served as director of public credit since 2004, and recently oversaw Mexico’s return to the yen markets and issuance of the region’s first sovereign 100-year bond. “Rodriguez is well known by the market and is recognized for having done an excellent job as a public debt manager and for having executed several shrewd and innovative debt liability management operations that contributed to reduce the vulnerability of public debt to exchange rate and interest rate swings,” says Goldman Sachs.