KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim has been appointed as the new governor for five years, effective from May 1, the Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.
Muhammad , who will take over from Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akthar Aziz who retires on April 30, said he accepts the appointment as governor with great humility.
He viewed the appointment as opportunity and call to serve the nation. .
The Prime Minister's Office, had in a statement, said the King, had on the advice of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, endorsed the appointment of Muhammad.
Najib said he was confident Muhammad will continue to assist the government, provide his advice and views to drive the country's economic growth and also administer the monetary policy and oversee the country's financial industry including BNM's efforts to develop the industry.
Muhammad was the deputy governor since 2010. He is a a graduate of Harvard University.
Najib also expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Zeti for her excellent contribution during her tenure as the seventh governor of the central bank.
Meanwhile, Muhammad said in a statement that he will strive to carry out the duties of governor of BNM to the best of his ability.
“I wish to record my appreciation to the Prime Minister and the government for the confidence and trust placed upon me.
“It is important for the central bank to maintain monetary and financial stability, remain focused on its strategic agenda and work towards contributing to a better future for all Malaysians,” he said.
Muhammad also thanked Zeti for her exemplary leadership and enormous contributions to the Bank and to the nation.
Meanwhile, Nomura Global Markets Research said it believes Muhammad’s appointment is a benign result, in line with itsexpectations, and will be interpreted as such by the markets.
“As deputy governor and a member of the MPC under Governor Zeti he is the most qualified candidate and will require a shorter transition period than any of the other candidate, in our view.
“While we will closely watch Muhammad for any statements or comments that reveal his policy biases, we believe he is unlikely to dramatically alter the direction of monetary policy. Overall, we remain comfortable with our view that BNM will keep its policy rate unchanged this year,” the research house said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim has been appointed as the new governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), taking over Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, with effect from May 1.
Muhammad, who is the most senior deputy governor and the central bank’s second-in-command was said to be favoured by the markets and BNM itself.
A career central banker like Zeti, Muhammad rose through the ranks, gathering experience and expertise in various facets of the administration and running of Bank Negara.
Besides him, the other names that have been cited as possible successors are the Minister-in-charge of economic planning in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Malaysian ambassador to the United States Datuk Awang Adek Hussin, and the secretary-general of the Treasury at the Finance Ministry Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
Muhammad joined the central bank in 1984 and has been deputy governor since June 2010. He oversees international reserve management, and money market and foreign-exchange operations. He has served in areas from banking supervision and regulation to insurance and offshore banking.
Muhammad was previously managing director at Danamodal Nasional Bhd, a bank recapitalisation agency created during the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s. He has a masters degree from Harvard University.
The appointment of Muhammad finally ends the months of waiting of the successor.
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