KARACHI: Yaseen Anwar on Tuesday took over as Acting Gover-nor of the State Bank of Pak-istan following acceptance of the resignation of SBP Governor Shahid H Kardar. During last one year, for the second time Yaseen Anwar had been given charge of acting governor of SBP by the federal government.
Earlier, after the resignation of Saleem Raza, he had taken charge as acting governor on June 2, 2010 and served for three months as acting governor. The Federal Government on Monday night notified acceptance of the resignation of Shahid Kardar and appointment of Yaseen Anwar as Acting Governor of SBP under the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956.
Anwar was also Acting Governor of SBP from June 3 to September 8, 2010 after the resignation of Salim Raza. Anwar, who has been serving in the State Bank as Deputy Governor since 29th March 2007, has managed all the four clusters of the central bank--Banking, Reserve Management, Monetary Policy and Operations; SBP subsidiaries, Banking Services Corporation (BSC) and the National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF).
He has served on the Boards of SBP, Pakistan Security Printing Corp (PSPC), Policy Board of SECP, Board of NIBAF and SAARC Payments Council Board. He is a member of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of SBP Central Board and has interacted with the IMF under the Standby Arrangement with Pakistan. He has also served as an alternative to the Governor on the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) Board.
As a senior global banker, Anwar brought 33 years of international banking experience to SBP. During this period he worked at major international financial centres that included New York, London and Paris with J. P Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. As a result of this international exposure, he developed a deep understanding of corporate business relationships in the US, Europe and the Middle East, as well as a broad range of hands-on experience in managing rapidly growing business units of renowned global financial institutions with detailed knowledge and oversight of the Regulatory Environment, Capital Markets, Operations, Payments, Export Finance, Investment Management and Credit related matters. As a Non-Executive Director on the Board of United National Bank Ltd (U.K.) for six years (2000-2006), he developed strong expertise in the U.K. financial services regulatory framework on corporate governance as well as senior level ties with the U.K. Financial Services Authority and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Prior to a stint at Riggs & Co, London as Director Investments, Anwar was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch & Co for nine years in New York/London from 1992 to 2001 where he honed his skills in Capital Markets and Alternative Investments. Before Merrill Lynch, he spent 15 years at Bank of America from 1976 to 1991 in various responsible capacities that included Vice President & Section Head for its Global Export Finance Group and the Middle East in New York. As head of Bank of America's Export Finance Group, he was the key relationship manager for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Export Import Bank, USAID and USDA.
He was trained at J. P Morgan Chase, New York during 1973-1975 after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania where he received a dual degree of BA in Political Science as well. His early education included attending Aitcheson College (Lahore), Grammar School (Karachi) and Karachi American School.
Anwar was the founder and President of the Pakistan Bankers Association, UK from 1997 to 1999. He was also a member of the Arab Bankers Association, UK. In New York, he served as an Executive Director on the American Turkish Society, Director on the US-Pakistan Economic Council, Director on the American Middle East Business Association and Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.