Muhammad Ibrahim is the new Bank Negara Governor

Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim has been appointed as the new Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for a five-year period beginning May 1, 2016, replacing Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

The appointment was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in a statement on Wednesday after obtaining consent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah.

"I am confident that under Datuk Muhammad's leadership, Bank Negara Malaysia will continue its contribution in helping the government, give advice and insights to drive the economic development of the country, as well as administering monetary policy and regulate the country's financial industry, including the continuing efforts by Bank Negara Malaysia to develop the financial industry accordingly," said Najib.

Muhammad's appointment was to replace Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who is out of contract at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Najib expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Zeti for her contribution during her tenure as the seventh BNM Governor.

READ: Who will be Zeti's succesor as Bank Negara governor?

Muhammad joined the central bank in 1984 and has been deputy governor since June 2010.

He oversees international reserve management, and money market and foreign exchange operations.

He has served in areas from banking supervision and regulation, to insurance and offshore banking.

Muhammad was previously managing director at Danamodal Nasional Bhd, a bank recapitalization agency created during the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s.

He has a master's degree from Harvard University.