Daily Times

Jameel Ahmad was given the position of governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), succeeding Dr. Murtaza Syed, who had been serving in the capacity of acting chief up until that moment. Jameel Ahmad took over the role from Dr. Murtaza Syed.

A confirmation of Ahmad’s new post came in the form of a tweet from the Federal Minister of Finance, Miftah Ismail. Almost the course of his over 31-year career as a central banker, Jameel Ahmad has held a variety of top roles at the SBP as well as the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). According to the information that can be found on the website of the SBP, Ahmad received his MBA from the University of the Punjab in 1988. Additionally, he has been a Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan (FCMA) since 1994, as well as a Fellow Member of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan (FIBP) since 1993, and he has been a Fellow Member of the Institute of Corporate Secretaries of Pakistan (FCIS) since 1992.

Two of his academic and professional accomplishments earned him a gold medal and two certificates of merit.

Ahmad has worked with the SBP since 1991 in roles as varied as Deputy Governor and Executive Director, and is now serving as Senior Advisor at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he advises on a wide range of policy matters in several central banking areas.

Since April 2017, Ahmad has been the SBP’s Deputy Governor for Banking and Financial Markets and Reserve Management. His term will end in October 2021.

According to the SBP, he was instrumental in transforming the bank supervision system by introducing risk-based methodology, issuing and implementing the latest international Basel capital adequacy standards, issuing a modern-day digital banking framework, establishing a depositors’ protection scheme, strengthening the bank resolution regime, and launching Pakistan’s first retail payments gateway. Ahmad also has a wealth of experience in the SBP’s upper echelons, having held positions of prominence in the organization’s Monetary Policy and Operations, Exchange Rate and Reserve Management, Banking Policy and Regulation, Banking Supervision, Development Finance, Payment Systems, and Financial Resource Management divisions.

His previous positions include: Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, Member of the Board of Directors of National Institute of Banking & Finance, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deposit Protection Corporation of Pakistan. He has also worked closely with other departments and represented the SBP in a number of parliamentary committees, such as the Senate and the National Assembly.

The SBP noted his major contributions to the establishment of policies and the establishment of regulatory framework for the banking systems of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, as well as the monitoring of their financial soundness and stability.