Treasurer Wayne Swan says he is happy to be compared to US rocker Bruce Springsteen after being named 'the boss' of the world's finance ministers.

The award, born not in the USA but in Europe, was conferred on him by leading banking and investment magazine Euromoney on advice from global economic experts.

The only other Australian winner of the award was Paul Keating in 1984, who later famously called himself the "Placido Domingo of politics" as he launched his ultimately successful bid to wrest the keys to The Lodge from Bob Hawke.

Asked which maestro he would compare himself to on ABC News Breakfast this morning, Mr Swan said: "I'm not really into classical music".

"What I'm into is rock and roll and I'm a great Bruce Springsteen fan - so there you go," Mr Swan told interviewer Virginia Trioli.

His message? Clearly, 'I'm on fire' - although he said it wasn't quite time for him to don one of Mr Keating’s famous Zegna suits.

But he was happy to credit the former treasurer with economic reforms that modernised the Australian economy - and even tipped his hat, albeit obliquely, to his predecessor, Peter Costello.

Sorry, this audio has expired Listen to Wayne Swan on AM

"We've not seen an award like this in Australia for 27 years," he told AM.

"I think the award underscores the importance of long-term fundamental economic reform, starting 27 years ago with those great reforms of the Hawke and Keating era, and of course there were reforms during the period of the Howard government as well."

Euromoney said it has contacted Mr Keating for comment on Mr Swan's award, but had been greeted with a volley of expletives.

The magazine said the former treasurer "curtly offered what appeared to be travel advice, suggesting we visit some place called 'buggery'."

But he then cooled down, praising Mr Swan for "his ability to comprehend danger and act decisively to minimise it" in the wake of the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse.

"Keating singled out Swan's decisions to guarantee bank deposits and splash on stimulus as crucial in helping Australia to avoid recession during the Global Financial Crisis," the magazine said.

"If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, Wayne Swan's treasurership brought us through this profound crisis," Mr Keating is quoted as saying.

The magazine said it contacted Mr Costello for comment - but he didn't have one.

Weathering the storm

The prestigious award came as Australia continued to weather the worst of the global financial storm.

Overnight the International Monetary Fund warned that the US and the eurozone were at risk of tipping back into recession, with chief economist Olivier Blanchard urging political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to "get their acts together."

But the IMF said Australia had enough economic firepower to avoid a recession, saying the Federal Government did not overspend in ensuring Australia avoided becoming a victim of the last financial crisis.

"No absolutely not, the Government's debt to GDP ratio is very low in Australia - very, very low," the IMF's Jorg Decressin said. "So much lower than in many other advanced economies that there is plenty of space to respond to future eventualities."

But despite Australia's strong economic performance, the Opposition reckons Mr Swan is dancing in the dark.

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce said he thought the award should be named after the captain of the Titanic, Edward John Smith.

"The award was true to form. Paul Keating got it before we got the recession we had to have," he told journalists outside parliament.

But acknowledging Australia has weathered the world's financial meltdowns of recent years, Senator Joyce said the success had "nothing to do with Wayne Maxwell Swan".

"The reason we never went into recession was that we were selling red rocks at a record price, iron ore, we were selling black rocks at a record price being coal."

Each year the Euromoney award honours the finance minister, treasurer or central bank governor whose decisions "have directly benefited both the performance and perception of their country's economic and financial achievements".

Mr Swan has presided over an economy which grew 1.2 per cent in the June quarter while most of the world's developed economies stalled, while unemployment at 5.3 per cent is roughly half that of the United States and Europe.

Australia also has a low level of debt and consumer confidence is also up - again, in contrast to that of other advanced economies.

Australia's economy has relied to a large degree on the health of China's manufacturing sector and the coal, gas and iron ore Australian companies provide to the Asian giant.

Mr Swan has had failures though. His mining tax proposal under the Rudd government was thwarted by an effective campaign by mining companies and was replaced by a far less lucrative minerals resource rent tax acceptable to the miners.

Mr Swan will be presented with the award in Washington next weekend.

As for the next election - Mr Swan will be standing. After all, he was born to run.