'IMF's official' Murtaza Syed appointed as deputy governor SBP

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday appointed another man, who served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), ARY NEWS reported.

Murtaza Syed is currently the second such appointment at the top hierarchy of the SBP after the incumbent state bank’s Governor Reza Baqir had also served for the international financial body.

A notification for the appointment of Murtaza Syed as the deputy governor of the bank is issued from the Finance Ministry on Monday.

He had served at the world’s top financial body as the deputy division chief in the IMF’s strategy, policy, and review department. He remained posted in China, Colombia, Greece, Korea and some countries of Europe while serving at the IMF since 2004.

His analytical work has covered macro-financial linkages, fiscal and monetary policy, financial crises, investment, demographics, and inequality. Before joining the Fund, Syed worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London and the Human Development Center in Islamabad. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Oxford.

In May 2019, Dr Reza Baqir assumed the charge of Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) after President Arif Alvi appointed him as the governor for a period of three years in pursuance of Section 10(3) of the State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956.

The SBP governor Dr Reza Baqir has 18 years of experience with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and two years with the World Bank.

He was the Head of the IMF’s Office in Egypt and Senior Resident Representative since August 2017. He has also held positions as IMF Mission Chief for Romania and Bulgaria, Division Chief of the IMF’s Debt Policy Division, Head of the IMF delegation to the Paris Club, Deputy Division Chief of the IMF’s Emerging Markets Division, IMF Resident Representative to the Philippines, and numerous other positions.