Dato’ Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus has been appointed as the new Bank Negara Malaysia Governor.
She worked with the central bank for 30 years before she left on Nov 15, 2016.
She takes over from Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim who resigned on June 15.
After leaving Bank Negara, she joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April last year where she was based in Washington DC. She was the assistant director of Monetary and Capital Markets Department there.
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, who led investigations into a trail of money related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), has been appointed as the new Bank Negara Malaysia Governor, Bloomberg reported.
She left Bank Negara in November 2016 amidst probes by the previous government into 1MDB.
Nor Shamsiah worked with the central bank for 30 years before she left on Nov 15, 2016.
She takes over from Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim who resigned on June 15.
Nomura Global Markets Research said Nor Shamsiah’s appointment implies continuity in the direction and conduct of monetary policy.
Like Muhammad, she had served as deputy governor under Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and she was a member of the monetary policy committee, it said.
“We maintain our forecast of the policy rate being left unchanged through the rest of this year, as we forecast GDP growth slowing to 5.1% in 2018 from 5.9% in 2017, below Bank Negara’s 5.5%-6.0% forecast.
CPI inflation will also likely fall sharply to 1.3% in 2018 from 3.7% in 2019, below Bank Negara’s 2%-3% forecast,” Nomura said.
Muhammad had tendered his resignation after questions were raised on the central bank’s purchase of a land from the federal government for RM2bil.
The transaction was completed in January this year and the proceeds were used to pay 1MDB’s debts.
After leaving Bank Negara, Nor Shamsiah joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April last year where she was based in Washington DC. She was the assistant director of Monetary and Capital Markets Department there.
There was no official statement by the IMF stating that Nor Shamsiah has resigned but sources in the banking industry indicated that she has left the international monetary body.
During Nor Shamsiah’s stint in Bank Negara, she was involved primarily in overseeing and ensuring the health of the banking sector, which is the core responsibility of the central bank in ensuring financial stability in the system.
Apart from banks, her area of supervision covered insurance and takaful companies, financial intelligence and enforcement, and talent management.
It was her oversight on the banks that saw her spearhead the investigations into 1MDB at the central bank level.
Nor Shamsiah was also involved in the financial sector resolution initiatives during the Asian financial crisis and the preparation and implementation of the Financial Sector Masterplan from 2001 to 2010.
Adapted from: The Star Online
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