Dr Ishrat Husain is The Banker’s Central Bank Governor of the Year for Asia for his leadership at the helm of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) that has championed and driven the reform and restructuring of Pakistan’s financial sector. The IMF observes that these reforms have resulted in a more resilient and efficient financial system that is better placed to absorb significant macroeconomic shocks.
More than that, the SBP has progressively improved its capacity to manage and maintain macroeconomic stability. Inflation is at a six-year high and could end the fiscal year in June 2005 at 7.5%, 250bp above target. Yet the SBP believes price pressures are not severe. In response, it has been measured in its monetary tightening, acting cautiously to avoid squeezing output growth, which is expected to be more than 6%.
