KARACHI: Well-known banker Sima Kamil has been appointed as Deputy Governor (DG) State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The federal cabinet, in its meeting held on August 4, 2020, granted approval to the appointment of Seema Kamil as DG SBP. With this approval she has become the first woman DG of SBP.

As per SBP's organizational structure, there are three slots of Deputy Governors of SBP. Two DGs namely Jameel Ahmad and Dr. Murtaza Syed are already appointed and now the federal government has appointed Sima Kamil as third governor SBP for a period of three years.

Sima Kamil is a seasonal banker with over 30 years' extensive experience in banking industry. Previously she was associated with United Bank Ltd. as President and CEO since March 2017. She was the first woman to be the CEO of a major bank in Pakistan. Kamil had also served as Deputy CEO UBL.

She started her career at American Express Bank and later moved to ANZ Grindlays and then Standard Chartered. She also served at Habib Bank Limited as first as Head of Corporate & Investment Banking and then as Head of Branch Banking. In 2015, she also developed and launched HBL Nisa, a Women's Market Program aimed to promote HBL services to women.

Previously, she had also been associated with the microfinance industry as a director of the First MicroFinance Bank. Kamil has a business degree from Kingston University in the UK and an MBA from the City University, London.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020