Imran Sarwar appointed as CEO/President NBP

September 03, 2026 (MLN): The name Mettis Global flagged as pending confirmation just a few minutes earlier, is now official. A notification issued by the Finance Division's Internal Finance Wing, dated September 3 and marked for publication in the Official Gazette of Pakistan Part-III, confirms that the Federal Government has appointed Mr. Imran Sarwar as President and CEO of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for a period of three years, with immediate effect.

The appointment was made under Section 11(3)(a) of the Banks (Nationalization) Act, 1974, referenced under file number F.No.1(9)Bkg-III/2022-696, and signed by Amna Shabbir, Deputy Secretary to the Government of Pakistan.

It follows Tuesday's "Secret/Immediate" Cabinet Division memo, reported first by Mettis Global, which confirmed a cabinet decision had been reached but withheld the appointee's identity pending formal notification.

Who is Imran Sarwar

Imran Sarwar joins NBP from United Bank Limited (UBL), where he served as Group Executive- Risk and Credit Policy and Chief Risk Officer, overseeing the bank's risk architecture and credit policy framework.

He brings more than 27 years of leadership, strategy and risk experience across banking markets in Pakistan, the UAE, the UK and Australia.

Before UBL, he held senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank, most recently as Managing Director and Head of Corporate Banking for the UAE, after a run of senior positions at the bank across both the UAE and Pakistan.

His board experience includes directorships at Khushhali Microfinance Bank and the Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC), where his profile credits him with setting risk policy and governance frameworks drawing on his cross-border banking background.

On the academic side, Sarwar holds a business and accounting degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in the United States and an LLB from the University of Punjab, a risk-and-law combination that colleagues at PMRC and Khushhali have pointed to as central to his credit-governance approach.

The shortlist he beat

His appointment closes out a selection process that ran since mid-June, when the Finance Division opened applications for NBP's top job following Rehmat Ali Hasnie's exit after a final extension expired on August 21.

NBP CFO Abdul Wahid Sethi has held acting charge in the interim. Nine candidates were interviewed by a panel chaired by the Finance Minister in mid-August; Sarwar's most closely watched rivals for the post were Zafar Masud, President and CEO of the Bank of Punjab, and Hassan Raza, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank of Khyber.

Markets will be watching for Imran Sarwar's first public remarks on NBP's loan-book cleanup and governance agenda, priorities Hasnie's tenure was credited with advancing, as well as any board or PSX disclosure formalizing his transition into the role.

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