Tariq Bajwa assumed the charge of Governor State Bank of Pakistan on Friday after President of Pakistan appointed him as Governor State Bank of Pakistan for a period of three years in pursuance of Section 10(3) of the State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956. The post of full-fledged governor SBP was vacant since April 28, 2017, when the three-year tenure of governor SBP Ashraf Mehmood Wathra expired and the federal government did not grant him an extension. Later, Riaz Riazuddin deputy governor SBP was appointed as acting governor SBP on April 30, 2017.
However, recent the exchange rate issue has forced the federal government for immediately appointment of a full-fledged governor and as per announcement of Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, new governor SBP has appointed on July 7, 2017 for a period of three years.
Immediately after assuming his office, Bajwa convened the meeting of senior officials of the SBP and stated it was an honor for him to lead one of the prestigious institutions of the country. He said he believed in team work and will continue to engage the senior management in decision making. The senior officials of the SBP assured him of their continued cooperation and assistance in meeting goals and objectives of the Bank.
A career civil servant by profession, Bajwa has been associated with Civil Service of Pakistan since 1981 before joining the SBP. He has varied experience in his career including field assignments of Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, Secretariat positions both the Federal and Provincial Secretariat, General Manager PIA (1992-1996), Head of Pakistan's Trade Mission in Los Angeles (1999-2004), Director General Planning and Finance in Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Bajwa served as Secretary Finance, Punjab from 2010 to 2013 and during his tenure he steered stabilizing the finances of the province and introduced several reforms including pension reforms. He also contributed as a Director on the Board of Bank of Punjab (2010-2013) during which period the Bank underwent major performance turnaround.
In 2013 he was appointed Chairman, FBR (July 2013 to October, 2015) and under his leadership FBR revenues witnessed significant growth and the concept of Filer/Non-Filer was introduced. The exercise of withdrawal of Statutory Regulatory Orders was undertaken and slabs of Custom Duties were reduced to four. Thereafter, he took charge as Secretary, Economic Affairs Division and then as Secretary Finance from where he retired on June 18, 2017. As Secretary Finance, he also served as a Director on the SBP Board during Feb-Jun, 2017.
He holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and an LLB from University of the Punjab, Lahore. He attended National Management Course at National School of Public Policy Lahore in 2009 and training at National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) in 2004. His professional expertise and experience include public policy formulation and implementation with specialization in public finance and taxation.
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