Pakistan picks State Bank, Saudi Central Bank veteran Jameel Ahmad as new governor

The file photo shows new governor of State Bank of Pakistan. (State Bank of Pakistan/Twitter)

• Pakistan’s central bank has been without a governor since May
• New central bank governor will serve a five-year term

KARACHI: Pakistan named Jameel Ahmad, a deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as the central bank’s new governor on Friday, appointing him for a five-year term. 
The Pakistani central bank had been without a full-time governor since May and one of Ahmad’s first tasks will be to chair a monetary policy meeting to consider its policy rate. 
Ahmad’s career spans more than 30 years in various positions at the State Bank of Pakistan and the Saudi Central Bank, the country’s central bank said in a profile on its website. 
Among these included his stint as a member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee. Ahmad was also the chairman of the Board of Directors of Deposit Protection Corporation of Pakistan. 
During his career, Ahmad also coordinated with various ministries and represented the central bank in various parliamentary committees including the Senate and National Assembly committees. 
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Ahmad has significant contributions to his credit in formulating the policy and regulatory framework for the banking systems of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and monitoring their financial soundness and stability. 
As a deputy SBP governor, Ahmad played an instrumental role in the digitization of banking and payments as well in the enabling of financial technology services, the bank said. 
Prior to his appointment as deputy governor of the Pakistani central bank in 2018, he was executive director of its Banking Supervision and Financial Stability Group.