Meet the author
Bilal joined the Bank in 2015 as an economist. Based in Dubai, he leads economic coverage of 12 MENAP economies, including Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He has been widely recognised for his non-consensus interest rate calls for Egypt and Pakistan. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he was a Senior Economic Adviser to the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office based in Karachi. Previously, he covered monetary policy at Pakistan’s central bank. He has authored articles on global macroeconomics and banking and is frequently quoted by the international media. Bilal holds a Master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics.