[2] After graduating from University of Indonesia's Faculty of Economics in 1984,[2] he became an international loan officer at the Indonesian branch of Bank of America.

[5] Following the resignation of Sri Mulyani, Agus was appointed as Finance Minister in the Second United Indonesia Cabinet.

Highlights of the new regulations included removing the value added tax (VAT) for the sale of houses worth less than Rp 70 million (US$7,910) compared with the previous Rp 55 million; eliminating taxes on the sales of cooking oil and bulk cooking oil for the poor; and providing in advance 50 percent of the funds needed by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) for the rice for the poor program.

[6] On 22 February 2013, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono surprisingly named Agus as his sole candidate for the governorship, replacing Darmin Nasution.

On 27 March 2013, the Indonesian House of Representatives' Finance Commission confirmed Agus as governor of Bank Indonesia for the period of 2013–2018.