Saleem Raza has been appointed as a new Governor of State Bank of Pakistan after the resignation of recent Governor, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar.

It has been reported that Dr. Shamshad will resign on January 1, 2009 after the completion of her three-year term. A well known newspaper TheNation broke this news on December 17, 2008 about the decision of the Govt. not to continue with Dr. Shamshad as PPP and MQM both are not willing to work with her.

New Governor Saleem Raza is brother of Ali Raza, president of National Bank of Pakistan and son of Syed Hashim Raza, a famous bureaucrat. Saleem Raza has a sound experience in financial sector and international banking. Currently, he is holding a position of Chief Executive Officer of Banking Council of Pakistan and has a lengthy career in Citi bank.